AISHWARYA Rai Bachchan has opted out of Crooked, a thriller in which she was meant to be paired opposite Abhi- shek Bachchan, as her dates were clashing with Vipul Shah’s movie about time travel, Action Replay. A search is on to replace to the actress for this movie that also stars Farhan Akthar and will be directed by Abhinay Deol, the new director in Bollywood who is also making Aamir Khan’s next home production, Delhi Belly

Former World beauty queen and famous actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan says that her character in ‘Ravana’ starring her husband Abhishek Bachchan isn’t that of our epic Ramayana’s Sita. In the same breath she admits, “Yes, I am playing a woman who has similarities with the Sita of ‘Ramayana’. Aish told this at the press conference of her new Hollywood flick ‘Pink Panther 2′. The actress has been shooting for ‘Ravana’ since Feb 17, and will continue till mid-March. When asked to elaborate her character in the movie, she refused to divulge more about ‘Ravan’. “However, it is an intense film set in today’s time and Mani Ratnam has given a totally new perspective to the art of storytelling,” she continued. She also emphasized that she had never played a conventional couple with her husband on-screen, apart from the film ‘Kuchh Naa Kaho’, though. She illustrated this by stating that neither in ‘Dhoom 2′ nor in ‘Sarkar Raj’ and nor in ‘Guru’, though the movie revolves around Abhishek.

“But, director Abhinay Deol has decided to cast us romancing on screen in his next,” she reveals. Abhishek remains one of the nicest co-actors she has seen so far, but not because he is her husband. Speaking about ‘Pink Panther 2′, which has released in India last Friday (February 27), is a ‘joyride’, according to her. But why how come she agreed to do a brief role in it? She replies, “I said ‘yes’ only because I wanted to work with Steve Martin, who is an institution in himself, and also because I have highest regard for comedy. ‘Pink Panther 2′ is an easy comedy and every one can watch it with family,” she adds.

Aishwarya Rai isn’t playing a cameo in ‘The Pink Panther 2′ that has already hit the screens in India. This sets at rest the report of her playing a seductress who deceives Steve Martin using her beauty and charm. In fact, she plays as the main villain. Though she begins as a criminology expert but later turns out to be a thief responsible for Pink Panther diamond’s theft. The movie’s story is based on the stolen priceless Pink Panther Diamond in Paris and Rome. Chief Inspector Dreyfus (John Cleese) is forced to assign Clouseau to a team of international detectives and experts charged with catching the thief and retrieving the stolen artifacts. Sony Pictures is releasing the film all over world. This is a comedy, thriller film which is a sequel to the 2006 worldwide hit ‘Pink Panther’ and stars Steve Martin as the French police detective, and Inspector Jacques Clouseau, besides others.

On the promotional trail for her Hollywood flick Pink Panther 2, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan candidly told reporters at a press conference that her character in Mani Ratnam’s next release Ravana is not called Sita.

“The name of my character is not Sita. I am playing a woman who has similarities with the Sita of Ramayana,” she said but then refused to give further details about the production which also stars her husband Abhishek.

“I can’t give any details about Ravana at the moment. You will have to wait and watch. All I can say that it is an intense film set in today’s time and Mani has given a totally new perspective to the art of storytelling,” she said.

Ravana will be the fifth film where the husband–wife jodi will be shown on screen. When asked about her pairing opposite Abhishek, Aishwarya said they never played a conventional couple on-screen.

“We have never been paired opposite each other in the conventional way, apart from the film Kuch Naa Kaho. Be it Dhoom 2 or Sarkar Raj, it’s not the conventional man-wife pairing. Even in Guru, the film revolves around Abhishek. So, by the time Ravana happened, we have become used to this.”

However, she did mention a future pairing with her husband in the re-make of the famous Amitabh and Jaya Bachchan starrer Abhimaan. “Director Abhinay Deol has decided to cast us in his new film. Hopefully, the audience will see us romancing on screen there.”

When posed a question on her experiences working with her husband Abhishek, Mrs Bachchan Jr commented that it was always a pleasure to act with him, denying that the reason behind such comments were not because she is his wife but rather because “he is one of the nicest co-actors I have seen so far.”

Chatting about Pink Panther 2, which released in India on Friday, Bachchan expressed the film to be a ‘joyride’. Rai further enthused about the release saying, “Anyone who is familiar with English films and Pink Panther will know what I mean when I say the film is a joyride.

Although I have a small role in the film, I said ‘yes’ only because I wanted to work with institutions like Steve Martin. “Besides, I have highest regard for comedy because it is the most difficult emotion to portray on screen. Pink Panther 2 is an easy comedy and every one can watch it with family.”