Actor Aishwarya Rai has denied defaulting on payment of taxes in the windmill project, which she had invested in a couple of years ago.
Reacting to a news report published in the TOI on Saturday, the actor’s father Krishnaraj Rai said,” The windmill power plants owned by her are managed and operated by Suzlon Energy who have assured us that there are no dues pending. We have not received any notice from the government either.”

Rai seemed angry with state legislature speaker Babasaheb Kupekar for directing the state to take action without verifying the facts from his daughter’s office. He said, “The speaker, who is the people’s representative, does not even verify the facts. Are we soft targets? I wonder how the speaker will react if he is accused of not paying his taxes”

With his film Slumdog Millionaire

shining among the top 10 films of the weekend on three continents, Anil Kapoor, who plays a complicated quiz show host in it, has set a record for an Indian actor. Not even Aishwarya Rai, who got miles of free publicity in the West thanks to her appearance on David Letterman show four years ago, can come anywhere near the success Kapoor has achieved. Her biggest success in North America, the 2004 romantic comedy Bride & Prejudice grossed  $6.6 million in North America about half of what Slumdog has nabbed in its early run.

True, Sabu (The Thief of  Bagdad, 1940) and Persis Khambatta (Star Trek, 1979) were featured in bigger movies than Slumdog but by the time these films were made they had settled down in the West.

Now Aishwarya Rai is perhaps living the most difficult yet productive period of her life. Why? Because o

f the monumental effort she has to put in while working in Mani Rathnam’s bilingual and Shankar’s Enthiran simultaneously. Imagine the pressure she would be experiencing:

A role in a high-class Mani Rathnam or Shankar film does not come easy; it entails for an immense amount of hard work for the artist! Plus she needs to be fit and in good shape for Enthiran, which will reportedly require her to do some stunts as well. To top it all, she has to shuttle between Salakkudi in Kerala and Chennai, where Mani’s Ravana/ Ashokavanam and Shankar’s Enthiran are being shot respectively.

The actor chose to do The Pink Panther because she adores comedian Peter Sellers who was in four Pink Panther films.

Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan Hollywood film The Pink Panther 2 is ready for release. The actor says one of the reasons she chose to do the film was her love for British comedian Peter Sellers. The three-time Oscar-nominated artist gained widespread recognition appearing in four Pink Panther movies.

“I loved Peter Sellers as inspector Clouseau in the Pink Panther series when I was a kid and watched these films. It was hilarious, a laugh riot and a thorough family entertainer. People across different age groups love The Pink Panther because the films always bring a smile to one’s face,” Ash says.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has given her nod to act in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s next film. She is also giving her unstinted support to the director who is facing rough weather after the debacle of his last venture, Saawariya.

Saawariya was panned by critics and crashed at the box office. But Ash feels that one failure does not mean that Bhansali should be written off from the Bollywood map as he is one of the best talents the country has ever produced.

“Sanjay Leela Bhansali has gifted me two of my most memorable films ,” Ash says, referring to Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Devdas. She adds,” He is a master filmmaker and I don’t think one failure is a very big deal. “

Not just in flicks, Bollywood has witnessed lots and lots of triangular stories in real lives of celebrities too. So, who’re those actors topping the charts of best triangular love stories? One of the leading media channels had figured it was none other than the entire family of Big B. Yup! Amitabh Bacchan, Jaya Bachchan, his son Abhishek and wife Aishwarya Rai…

Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai and who could have been the one with one-sided love with them? It was Vivek Oberoi. Yeah! He fell in love with Aishwarya Rai and nothing really worked out for him as she entered into nuptials with Abhishek Bachchan. Glimpse back to his Abhi’s dad Big B and there’s something more interesting. Buzzes were that actress Rekha was in love with Amitabh Bachchan for a long time even after his nuptials with Jaya Bachchan… Later, Jaya had to interfere in this issue and get things set right with Rekha…

Tejaswini Kolhapure is hoping that her role in Ravan will give her the big break she deserves. How is she finding working with Mani Ratnam? “Working with Mani Sir is a dream come true,” she says, “He belongs to a different school of thought, and doing a film under his guidance was both exciting and adventurous. It is a privilege to work with him.” The film stars Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Govinda and Vikram too.

Tejaswini is best known for her role in Stop! but has another Bollywood movie in the pipeline in Mumbai Cutting. She’s the younger sister of Padmini Kolhapure. How is Tejaswini finding it working with her co-stars? “I’ve worked with Aishwarya before,” she explains, “So, it was great to meet her again. All the stars are absolutely fantastic.”

Top Bollywood star kid Abhishek Bachchan has refused a guest appearance in a Yash Raj film, it has been reported. According to some Indian newspapers, Abhishek Bachchan was approached by Yash Raj head Aditya Chopra for a small but essential role in the Rani Mukherjee and Shahid Kapoor starrer.

A source reveal, “Abhishek was offered a small but significant role in the Yash Raj banner project the shooting for which has already begun now. He declined the offer due to Rani Mukherjee. He now does not work with Rani after his marriage with Aishwarya Rai. He had earlier done a cameo in their Laaga Chunari Mein Daag (2007) opposite Rani so it was taken for granted that he would say yes”.

Abhishek Bachchan’s refusal is being blamed on his wife Aishwarya Rai. Another source says, “Apparently, Aishwarya is jealous of Rani as Rani was expected to marry Abhishek in past time”.

After Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa Akbar, the couple who starred in two dramatically different films is set to grace the screen again with none other than perfectionist Sanjay Leela Bhansali. Bollyspice earlier reported rumours of Hrithik Roshan signing Bhansali’s next with the possibility of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the cast as well. Recently, Hrithik Roshan confirmed this to Mumbai Mirror and expressed his enthusiasm about the film.

“Sanjay Bhansali’s film is the only film that I’ve accepted after Kites. I just jumped at it. We’re both very passionate film persons.Though there’s one other script that I’m looking at, nothing touched my soul except Bhansali’s script,” Hrithik explained.

He also went on to reveal that Aishwarya will also be part of the cast and adds that the duo’s chemistry will depend on what the script allows them to do.