By Jilawatan

She rises early these days, reaches Saheb Kuthi in Agarpara before call time, and is only back in her hotel room late at night.

As if this punishing schedule is not enough, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been travelling non-stop for the past month or so, from New York to Berlin, Paris, Madrid, Barcelona, back to Mumbai, and on to Kolkata to shoot for Mani Ratnam’s Ravan at Agarpara.

Paradoxically, Aishwarya seems to have conquered tiredness with more work. At least that is what it seems like when I catch up with her at 10 pm in her room at the Vedic Village. Despite a gruelling day’s work, she’s ready to talk at length… about anything other than Ravan.

By Jilawatan

“Slumdog Millionaire” took home eight Oscars on Sunday night, a surprising achievement for a film once thought to be straight-to-DVD fodder. The colorful story, which mixes the gritty life of Mumbai’s poor with the shiny aspirations of the new India, features no stars recognizable to Western audiences, but it may have made one of its native country.

So, is it time for Bollywood — as India’s huge Mumbai-based film industry is called — to come to America?

“International cinema comes in cycles in the United States,” said Frank Lovece, a film critic with Film Journal International. “Now, it’s Bollywood’s time.”

But “Slumdog” is a far cry from the lavish movie musicals made by Bollywood, which releases nearly 1,000 films annually. And it’s not authentically Indian — it was directed by Briton Danny Boyle, and the leading actor, Dev Patel, was born and raised in England.

By Jilawatan

Time and again Bollywood’s numero uno actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has proved that her popularity is ceaseless and no can beat her on that front not even the KHANS who are considered the pillars of Bollywood.

According to the new Forbes list – Aishwarya Rai is listed as India’s most bankable star in Hollywood, pushing down the Khans of Bollywood in the ratings of the best bet for a film’s financial success. Ash is among half a dozen of Bollywood actors on the list of ‘Hollywood’s Most Valuable Actors’. Other Indians on the list include Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Irfan Khan and Hrithik Roshan.

She is ranked highest among all the Indian actors and the only female actor from the country. Her rank stands at 387th position in the global list of as many as 1,411 actors from across the world. Among male Bollywood actors, Aamir is ranked highest at 540th in the global list, followed by Shahrukh (735th), Salman (753rd), Irfan Khan (825th) and Hrithik Roshan (1059th). The list is topped by Hollywood star Will Smith.