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Movie moghul JP Dutta's courtesan tale Umrao Jaan looks more and more interesting with the star cart including the likes of Shabana Azmi, Aishwarya Rai and the latest addition being Abhishek Bachchan. Aishwarya Rai is playing the title role and Shabana Azmi plays Ash's mother (for the role played by her mother Shaukat Azmi in the original). JP has zeroed-in on his favourite blue-eyed boy Abhishek Bachchan for the main romantic lead. "If you remember, I was supposed to launch Abhishek in a period film based on the life of Bahadur Shah Zafar and his son. It was also supposed to feature Dilip Kumar. That project unfortunately got shelved. Instead, Refugee happened. But my dream of casting Abhishek in the classic mould did not die." Pausing and pondering, JP proceeds, "After Ash was cast as Umrao, I needed a man who could look like a poet and a dreamer, and at the same time match her as an ideal partner. When I closed my eyes, I could only see Abhishek." At first JP was hesitant to approach Abhishek: "I'm very proud to see his growth as actor, star and human too. I know how busy he has become. He has come a long way since Refugee. Today he's one of the hottest stars, well on the way to becoming number one. But at heart, Abhishek remains untouched and unspoilt." Abhishek, on his part, agreed immediately. "With JP Saab there's no question of a no. Even if he told me to do one passing shot I'd happily do it," This will be Abhishek's third film with Aishwarya Rai, and his second brush with a period film. "I've done a period film with Rituparna Ghosh, Antar Mahal. But I know Umrao Jaan will be a completely new experience," he says.
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