Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has ruled out working with her ex-boyfriends Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi. Rumours had been spreading that she would be appearing alongside Vivek in Sautish Kashik’s new big budget romance Tansen, but the director denies this. “I’ve been getting so many calls from people asking me whether I have cast Vivek Oberoi in Tansen along with Abhishek and Aishwarya and the answer is no such thing has happened,” explianed Kaushik. “I’ve not approached Vivek, Salman Khan or even Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for the film. I had only mentioned Abhishek’s name saying he is someone who can play the role well as he also has a certain star status and fan following.”
Meanwhile, expectations are mounting over the Aish-Rajnikanth movie Endhiran which it is now rumoured has reached a budget of 120cr, making it India’s most expensive movie. The signature item number alone is said to have cost 30cr and Aishwarya’s fee is rumoured to be in the region of 6cr. However, the over-run on the production dates may be costing Aishwarya dearly as it’s making it difficult for her to sign new projects and her absence from the screen since Sarkar Raj may also be damaging her career.
Aishwarya’s other big budget project, Raavan, has also been having some difficulties. Director Mani Ratnam was rushed off to hospital recently with a suspected heart attack and not released for a week. There have also been some disagreements on set with a tiff developing between the South’s leading director and the North’s leading actress. Mani wanted her to shoot a scene without any make-up and Aishwarya was apparently not very happy about it. In addition, there have been problems over shooting scenes in areas designated as natural reserves.
