Filmmaker Karan Johar today said rumours about Aishwarya Rai dissuading husband Abhishek Bachchan from working with Katrina Kaif were baseless and ridiculous. “Rumours about Aishwariya dissuading Abhishek from working with Katrina are absolutely baseless and ridiculous!!! The cast of Dostana 2 is Abhishek, John and Katrina and we start filming early next year!! Bringing Aishwarya into this is unwarranted!!,” Karan wrote on the microblogging site Twitter.
Dostana 2 is the sequel to the 2008 John-Abhishek -Priyanka Chopra starrer Dostana. It is directed by Tarun Mansukhani and is a Karan Johar Production.

According to reports in a section of the media, Katrina allegedly walked out of the Abbas- Mastan movie inspired by Italian Job likely to feature Abhishek Bachchan. Hence, Aishwarya wanted her husband to be out of the Karan Johar film.

Abhishek and Katrina have been paired opposite each other in Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar, a few years ago.

When it comes to the Bachchans, it all runs in the family.

The news is that Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan will do an item number in comedian-turned-director Sajid Khan’s upcoming multistarrer, Housefull.

The song to which Ash will be gyrating is said to be dad-in-law Amitabh Bachchan’s hit number, Apni toh jaise taise, from his 1981 hit Laawaris.

The film’s producer, Sajid Nadiadwala, has bought the rights of the song, though Sajid Khan is mum. “I am neither confirming nor denying the news. We will make an announcement at the right time,” says Khan.

Of late, the Bachchans have been going out of their way to push the prospects of each other. Last week, when Abhishek Bachchan made his debut as a TV show host–Bingo on Colors channel–Big B was his first guest.

Obviously, Abhishek needs all the push.

Ash had also recently played the dutiful wife by getting emotional about how Abhi would make a great father in real life. Ash’s comment came as Paa, the Bachchan home-production, was about to be released.

“Everybody has been asking me if Abhi would be a good paa. He is very real and rooted and a great human being, which I can absolutely relate to,” she had said.

Coming back to the item number, the buzz is that Ash has allotted four days for the shooting. The song is expected to be shot on a grand scale with over 500 extras. She will shoot the number after wrapping up a portion of her upcoming film, Vipul Shah’s Action Replay, with Akshay Kumar.

Kareena Kapoor was reportedly approached for the song but she had no dates. This will be Ash’s third item number after Ishq kameena in Shakti and Kajra re in Bunty Aur Babli.

Ash also has many films opposite Abhi.

They are busy wrapping up Mani Ratnam’s Raavan, and gearing up for Rajeev Menon’s Dhun, which is said to be a remake of Amitabh-Jaya Bachchan starrer, Abhimaan.

Abhishek, on his part, never misses an opportunity to praise his paa or wife. “Who can ever forget sharing the screen space with Mr Amitabh Bachchan?” he said on Bingo, while recalling his first day of shoot for Sarkar, their first film together. Abhishek has also aggressively tweeted about how Big B donated his winnings on Bingo to charity.

Take it easy, Abhi

Abhishek has also been tweeting about how India doesn’t deserve a talent such as Amitabh Bachchan, after watching Rann. “We don’t deserve a talent like Mr Amitabh Bachchan. (I) Don’t think we can make movies to fit his talent,” were his exact words.

In a country like India that has produced luminaries from Satyajit Ray to A. R. Rahman, many movie buffs find Abhishek’s claim a little too stretched.

A fan shot back on Abhishek’s Twitter page. “It’s really lame to praise your own family in media, especially to this extent. You should let people praise him!” the fan said.

Abhishek has actually sparked off a debate on the issue–that India doesn’t deserve Big B–on Twitter. “Would love to hear everyone’s opinion on that,” he has tweeted. “My opinion? Well, its (sic) my Twitter page, so I have the freedom to write whatever I want and praise whoever I want. Don’t like it? Don’t read it,” Abhishek adds smugly.