IS the magic starting to fade for Aishwarya Rai?
The emerald-eyed Bollywood actress has constantly been ranked one of the 10 most beautiful women in the world and is still winning fans, especially in the West.
But on home ground, according to reports, a negative buzz is starting to grow.
The former Miss World Aishwarya Rai won the Best Actress award for her role in the Hindi film Raincoat at the National Awards and the Global Indian award at the International Indian Film Academy awards earlier this year.
Aishwarya Rai’s Hollywood career too seems to be on track.
CHINKS IN THE ARMOUR
ALREADY, Aishwarya Rai has two films under her belt, Bride and Prejudice, released last year, and the Mistress of Spices, due to be released soon.
The 32-year-old Bollywood actress and former Miss World is also scheduled to appear in films with Colin Firth and Meryl Streep.
Aishwarya Rai also has a meaty role in the British film Provoked, where she plays a domestic abuse victim.
But chinks are starting to appear in her, till now, almost-perfect PR armour.
The most recent scandal involves Aishwarya Rai and her ex-boyfriend Salman Khan.
Recently, the transcripts of an alleged conversation between them in 2001 was released.
The reports claimed that Salman Khan had threatened Aishwarya Rai by boasting about his links with the underworld especially with wanted mafia don Chhota Shakeel.
The transcripts also allegedly have Aishwarya Rai screaming obscenities at him.
Ash, as she is known in Bollywood, and Salman, 42, had a tempestuous relationship, which ended two years ago with the former accusing the latter of abusing her.
Ms Bharathi Dubey, Bollywood observer and entertainment editor of the Asian Age, thinks that Salman will take the rap on this scandal.
’If the tapes are real, Aishwarya Rai will be seen as Salman’s victim,†Ms Dubey told The New Paper.
She also added that Aishwarya Rai’s image in Bollywood has been on shaky ground for a while. Aishwarya Rai was reportedly dropped from the film Bluff Master, to be helmed by director Rohan Sippy.
The Indian media reported that Aishwarya Rai had been replaced by India’s current It girl, Priyanka Chopra.
Ominously, it wasn’t Aishwarya Rai’s first cancelled role and it may not be her last.
In the past two years, Aishwarya Rai has been replaced on other big-budget films, including the Shah Rukh Khan-produced hit Chalte Chalte in 2003.
The reason? Aishwarya Rai and ex-boyfriend Salman Khan had created a ruckus on the set.
Aishwarya Rai was booted off without ceremony and replaced by Rani Mukherjee.
The second significant incident was when she demanded more money for her role in Aamir Khan’s soon-to-be released film The Rising.
Aishwarya Rai reportedly asked for double her fee on the advice of her Hollywood agent, William Morris.
Aishwarya Rai’s initial agreement was to star for 15 million rupees ($563,377).
Achar actor and model Jas Arora, who is based in Bollywood, told The New Paper that in his opinion, India’s film industry was increasingly reluctant to work with Aishwarya Rai.
DEMANDING MONEY
“SHE’S annoyed two of the biggest stars in Bollywood. Many of the bigger directors are wary of working with Aishwarya Rai because of that.
“She is also demanding a lot of money because her new Hollywood status deserves it,†he said.
Aishwarya Rai’s reputation as a difficult diva also seems to be worsening.
A reliable source told, that several crew members were fired or walked out on the film Provoked due to Aishwarya Rai.
The film, directed by Jagmohan Mundhra, is based on the real story of a Punjabi girl, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who was tricked into marrying a London-based man, only to become a victim of domestic abuse.
The source who is closely associated with the film said that a British assistant director and several crew members were sick of Aishwarya Rai’s behaviour.
During a scene, the assistant director made a catty remark to her.
“He called her a cow,†said the source.
Aishwarya Rai apparently stormed off the set and refused to continue shooting unless the assistant was fired.
The assistant was sacked, which prompted several crew members to walk off as well.
“The crew can’t stand working with her. Aishwarya Rai treats them with such contempt,†added the source.
This diva behaviour was further emphasised by UK-based Asiana Magazine reporter Poorna Shetty in her article entitled Beautiful and Ugly.
She described how Aishwarya Rai treated Asian journalists dismissively during a photo-shoot for the magazine.
“Everything you’ve heard about Aishwarya Rai is true. She is the most beautiful woman in the world. There’s no-one in Bollywood who can dance as well as her, captivate the audience with such a magical screen presence or light up the surroundings with a more lustrous star quality.
“Aishwarya Rai is also a diva. A prima donna of the highest order. So full of herself it’s a wonder the woman needs to eat…†wrote Ms Shetty.
But Ms Dubey feels it doesn’t change the fact that Aishwarya Rai remains Bollywood’s biggest export.
She said: “Aishwarya Rai is getting movie roles that other Bollywood stars can only dream of at the moment.
“A diva behaviour here or scandal there is not going to change that.’
COMING SOON, STARRING AISHWARYA RAI
AISHWARYA Rai has several Hollywood projects in the works. Here are some movies and co-stars she’ll be able to boast about in the next year:
* Racing the Monsoon, with Michael Douglas
* The Last Legion, with Colin Firth
* Chaos, with Meryl Streep
* Singularity, with Brendan Fraser
* Provoked, with Naveen Andrews (who played Kip in The English Patient and Balraj Bingley in Bride and Prejudice)
* Mistress of Spices, with Dylan McDermott
