Ash celebrates quiet birthday
by: Ram Kamal Mukherjee
- mumbaimirror.com
On November 1st, Aishwarya Rai celebrates her 32nd birthday in Slovakia, shooting for her Hollywood film The Last Legion. Away from her home and relatives, she will be busy shooting with her co-actors Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley. “I will miss my parents, brother, bhabi, and my closest friends,” says Ash from Bratislava, 30 minutes away from Vienna.
Ash has never celebrated her birthday with much fanfare, and believes in keeping it a private affair. “I am a very private person and would love to celebrate my birthday with my family. I get innumerable SMS-es and calls from all over the globe, but it becomes humanly impossible to revert to all,” she says.
According to a unit member the director, Dino de Laurentis, and the film’s crew and cast have planned a surprise birthday bash for her on the sets. Academy award-winning actors Ben Kingsley and Colin Firth will also attend the party. “I thank God and my fans for the love and adulation that they have always showered on me. I also thank my directors and media personalities for vesting trust in me as a person and performer,” says Aishwarya.
This year her paramour Vivek Oberoi will miss her birthday too. Vivek is shooting in Bangkok for Pyare Mohan. "I don't think Vivek will be able to leave his shoot and travel all the way from Bangkok to Slovakia for my birthday," she says. But he must have gifted her something special nonetheless… "That's too personal, I am not comfortable with talking about such things," she says.
After completing her Hollywood schedule, Ash will be back in India on November 10, and will join JP Dutta for Umrao Jaan. She will be shuffling her dates between Umrao Jaan and Sanjay Gadhvi's Dhoom II. "I am looking forward to working with both directors. I think Rekhaji looked stunning in Muzaffar Ali's Umrao Jaan - she gave a lifetime's performance, I will try and do the same in my own way. As far as Dhoom II is concerned; it's a very contemporary film and my character is just the opposite of Umrao," she informs.
The buzz around is that, once she returns home, she will sign three big banner films. "Just wait and watch," she chuckles. During her week-long stay in India, she had already met Ketan Mehta for his magnum opus Jhansi Ki Rani - The Rebel.
Now that she has been trained in sword-fighting by Brad Pitt's own trainer, it must be a cakewalk for Ash to play the gallant queen. "You think so?" she smiles, "I think Rani Laxmibai is one of the most powerful characters I have come across in Indian history, not because she fought the British, but for her determination and responsibilities. But it's too early to talk about it right now."
After Ash, it seems like a substantial part of Bollywood has made a foray into the international film scene. When asked to comment on Sushmita Sen's sojourn to Hollywood, she says, "I wish her all the best, I am glad that Indian actors are successfully continuing the tradition of working on good international projects - something that Naseeruddin Shah and Shabana Azmi did years ago," she says.
Related Links:
The Last Legion: News Updates
Umrao Jaan: News Updates
Dhoom II: News Updates
