Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai-Hrithik Roshan kiss chopped off from 'Dhoom 2'

21st Jan 2007 22.28 IST By Agencies

Those who still haven’t seen Dhoom 2 and those who want to see the movie again only for the Aishwarya Rai - Hrithik Roshan kiss are in for a disappointment as the scene has been chopped off from the film.

Reports say that the Bachchans asked Yashraj Films to axe the scene that shows their to-be daughter-inlaw doing a “bold smooch”.

However, ‘Dhoom 2’ director Sanjay Gadhvi has refused to comment on the issue and maintains that his relations with Yashraj Films haven’t been effected due to the controversy.

The kiss had raised eyebrows and sparked off controversies soon after the movie was released on November 24 last year.

A lawyer had even filed a legal suit against Ash and Hrithik. However, no formal action has been taken against Yashraj Films.

The Bachchans never approved of the Ash-Hrithik kiss and speculation was rife that Abhishek Bachchan had stopped talking to Hrithik after seeing the kissing scene.

Now with the Ash-Abhishek wedding round the corner, it seems the Bachchans are all out to get a clean image of their would-be bahu.

Letter from India: Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan - star-crossed stars and a ravenous press

NEW DELHI: This week's engagement of former Miss World Aishwarya Rai to the Bollywood star
Abhishek Bachchan was accompanied by all the media hysteria appropriate for such an A-list union.
There were crowds of fans thronging the home of the Bachchan family, Bollywood's leading dynasty,
hoping for an appearance from the couple.
There were spontaneous celebrations in the nearby streets and fighting between photographers as they
jostled for a picture.
Later there were shots of the couple, holding hands in the back of a limousine. Rai, 33, smiling, her eyes
averted, demurely, toward the floor; Bachchan, 31, staring anxiously at the advancing army of paparazzi.
Last autumn, as rumors of their relationship emerged, one television critic put out a prescient plea to the
couple, begging them not to go ahead with the marriage, for fear of what the announcement of an
engagement would do to normal news coverage. These fears were more than realized. For days now,
every detail of the stars' daily routine has pushed other events — like soaring rates of malnutrition,
violent rural unrest, the murder of dozens of slum children — to the back of the news schedule.

So far, so normal. This is the kind of excitement that film star weddings generate across the world.
Elsewhere newspapers would have perhaps taken a more cynical line, raising the possibility of a
publicity stunt because of the convenient coincidence of the marriage announcement and the global
release of a major film, "Guru," starring both actors. But such is the respect accorded to the Bachchan
family, (headed by the revered figure and film legend Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek's father), that this
thought has barely been entertained.
At face value, the reporting of the engagement seems to gush innocent syrupy enthusiasm for this union
between two of the industry's most glamorous stars. But at a second glance, the media's tone betrays a
deep-rooted social conservatism prevalent here, and reveals much about disparities in attitudes toward
men and women.
Rai's age has been the focus of some discussion — the implication being that at 33 she is practically a
spinster and has had extraordinary good luck in managing to persuade Bachchan, two years her junior, to
pluck her from the shelf.
The fact that Rai has previously been attached to other men has also not gone unnoticed, and the details
of earlier relationships with two other Bollywood actors, Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi, have been
picked over at length. (Bachchan's earlier engagement to another actress, Karisma Kapoor, has attracted
less comment.)
Most peculiar has been the amount of attention paid to Rai's inauspicious horoscope, which sets her out,
according to newspaper astrologers, as a potential curse to her future husband.
In recent months, Rai has joined the Bachchan family on several visits to temples to perform what the

media described as "cleansing ceremonies." This show of religious devotion, commentators claim, was motivated by a desire to correct Rai's problematic star sign, which astrologers warn could augur ill for Abhishek Bachchan's career. Rai is said to be "manglik," an unlucky positioning under Mars, the mainstream daily newspaper, The Hindustan Times, explained, indicating "unhappiness at home (with the mother-in-law for instance) divorce or separation, sickness, loss of business or hot-headedness." In the worst-case scenario, they warn, it can mean early death for the husband. One solution to this unlucky mismatch of star signs, astrologers advised the couple this week, would be for Rai to first marry a banana tree in a symbolic ceremony to ward off evil. Newspaper reporters have been careful to avoid open criticism of the actress, relying instead on unnamed "sources," like the one who told The Times of India: "Everybody — be it fans, media or family members — were against their marriage because of Rai's flings in the past and the myth that she brings bad omen for her boyfriends. They warned Bachchan, 'If you marry her your career will be ruined.'" They tried to dissuade him by talking about their age difference. But Bachchan didn't listen to anybody and withstood all the opposition." The tone of the thousands of participants on blog threads on the subject is less inhibited. "I doubt if she will be a good homemaker," is a common response. "Ash is too ambitious and will not be ready to compromise her career for a family. The Bachchan family needs a housewife," another fan declared. "Poor Abhishek, after knowing all about her relationships in the past. Apart from that she is elder than him by two years. Certainly he is unlucky," concluded another.

CAST: Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya Rai, Mithun Chakraborty, Vidya Balan and Madhavan

Filmmaking doyen Mani Ratnam has unveiled another masterpiece with Guru.

Much to his father's (played by Rajendra Gupta) disapproval, Gurukant Desai, aka Guru (Bach-chan), dreams of being a businessman. He strikes up a partnership deal with his best friend Jignesh (Arya Babbar) by marrying Jignesh's sister Sujatha (Aishwarya Rai) and using her dowry as start-up capital for their business venture in Mumbai.

However, he faces much red tape in gaining a foothold in the business sector, which is monopolised by Mumbai's elite capitalists. With the help of Manikdas Guptha (Mithun Chakraborty), the owner of a publication called The Independent, Guru gets his voice heard and, in doing so, the go-ahead to start his polyester business.

Despite more hurdles along the way, Guru's company, Shakti Trading, becomes the biggest success story in India

Meanwhile, a self-righteous Manikdas, who feels that Guru has become a law unto himself, gets journalist Shyam Saxena (R Madhavan) to report on any irregularities with Guru's company.

Not long after that Guru suffers a stroke and his company is sued for several contraventions of the law. How he deals with these heavy blows forms an emotive climax.

The taut storyline, intelligently penned and powerful dialogue and praiseworthy characterisations are the film's anchors.

Bachchan's sterling performance attests to his versatility to take on any role. Not only does he enact his character's idiosyncrasies with panache, his chemistry with Rai (his real-life fiancée) is electrifying.

Vidya Balan also gets much scope as the wheel-chair-bound Meenu and adds much colour to the story along with Madhavan and Chakraborty.

An inspiring and entertaining tale.

Friday, January 19, 2007 8:06:00 AM (IST) Aishwarya Rai, Karan Johar are Global Young Leaders

Mumbai, Jan 19: Actress Aishwarya Rai and director Karan Johar are the two Bollywood personalities among 25 Indians who figure in this year's list of 250 Global Young Leaders by the Geneva-based World Economic Forum. Some of the other Indians in the list are MP's Omar Abdullah, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Naveen Jindal. Also Managing Editor of NDTV Vikram Chandra, Chief Managing Editor of HT Media Raju Narisetti and Prince Shivraj Singh of Jodhpur feature in this year's list. Aishwarya Rai is already in news this week as she got engaged with her co-star from Guru, Abhishek Bachchan. This news broke just after the release of Guru and well, the film is doing well at the Box Office. The Young Global Leaders 2007 includes business leaders as well as leaders from governments, academia, media and society at large from nearly 70 countries.

Aishwarya Rai, Abhishek Bachchan Engaged

By R.M. VIJAYAKAR Special to India-West

MUMBAI - It is deja vu time for the Bachchan family. Almost 34 years ago, Amitabh Bachchan's "Zanjeer" became a super-hit and the "jinx" became a top star. AB did not waste time. He got engaged to long-standing "steady" girlfriend Jaya Bhaduri, a top star already, and silenced any views that a struggling actor, like many before him, was using a top actress to get both publicity and success.

This time, his son Abhishek, who has just delivered his career-best performance in "Guru," which has opened to great reviews and an increase rather than decrease in collections since its Friday opening, has announced his engagement to not-so-long standing beau Aishwarya Rai on the auspicious occasion of Makar Sankranti Jan. 14.

The full story appears in the print edition of India-West. To subscribe, click on the Subscribe link on the India-West Web site or email info@indiawest.com.

Aishwarya Rai | Aishwarya Rai 1 | Aishwarya Rai 3 | Aishwarya Rai 4 | Aishwarya Rai 5 | Aishwarya Rai 6 | Aishwarya Rai 7 | Aishwarya Rai 8 | Aishwarya Rai 9 | Aishwarya Rai 10 | Aishwarya Rai 11

Celebrity News Archive