Ash's new interview!!

After almost two years since her last Bollywood release (Sarkar Raj) and nearly a year (The Pink Panther 2) since a film of hers hit the theatres, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is back, and how. She began the year simmering and scorching the big screen as the modern Sita with the fire of a Draupadi (Raavan) and now looks forward to outshining all previous diva outings in one of Indian cinema's most ambitious films to date, Robot. As regards her co-stars, they range from hubby Abhishek Bachchan to veteran Rajnikanth and the national heartthrob Hrithik Roshan to the box-office khiladi Akshay Kumar. 2010 is undoubtedly the diva actress' creatively most challenging year of her career to date.

Her last release, Raavan, may not have exactly set the box-office abuzz, but Aishwarya's spirited act has been the last thing even the film's harshest detractors have regretted about. After Mani Ratnam, the director's actress is all set to achieve another emoting peak with another fine filmmaker of contemporary repute, Sanjay Leela Bhansali in her next big release of the year Guzaarish. The eagerly awaited film is also in the news for courting a double hat-trick of creative partnership for Aishwarya with director Bhansali (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas) and co-star Hrithik Roshan (Dhoom 2, Jodhaa Akbar).

Naturally, the ravishing actress is on a high as never before. And, if at all there's been a toll simultaneously juggling between two of the most demanding directors of Indian cinema ? Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali ? with extremely diverse working styles, she seems to be the last one to complain. "I consider myself blessed to have repeatedly worked with Mani Ratnam and Sanjay Leela Bhansali, especially because they have always taken my acting abilities seriously," begins Aishwarya.

Delving further on the director of her next release, Guzaarish, she says, "What Sanjay and I share is very special. We have evolved together from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, growing as individuals and artistes. We're both very similar artistes ? totally driven and passionate! The passion is mutually addictive."

Consumed to their callings, often almost to a point of oblivion from everything else around, the duo may not be meeting each other for months, but when they do they bond like a house on fire. "Every time we meet, we pick up the threads effortlessly, both personally and professionally," sallies Aishwarya, stating, "Our connect is unique. Both of us were very sure that whenever we would team together after Hum Dil? and Devdas it would be for something that would take us to another zone of creative high."😆

If Hum Dil? changed Aishwarya's image from a glamorous star to a performing actress, Devdas got her international fame and recognition at Cannes. The talking point, however, is their latest collaboration, about which she informs, "We aren't going into the glamour zone at all in Guzaarish. Sanjay was so excited when he found the right script for us to work together. 'This is it,' he said. And, for the first time, I didn't even read the script before saying yes. His faith in me was enough for me." Having finished shooting for the film, Aishwarya cannot contain her excitement any longer. "It's a very real and intense drama. I respect filmmakers like Sanjay Bhansali, Mani Ratnam and Shankar who make the films they do because they have to. Even in the family that I've married into, such belief and faith in the work that we do is predominant. Both Ma (Jaya Bachchan) and Pa (Amitabh Bachchan) have always gone into their every project with complete conviction. I follow that faith."

That faith, for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, also means a greater involvement in every film she signs on, beyond just playing her part effectively. "I treasure that relationship with my directors where they don't see me as just their heroine but as a collaborator even when I am unable to do their projects."

Incidentally, Bhansali's last great masterpiece, Black, had first been offered to Aishwarya. Declining to say anything with a polite ? "I wouldn't like to comment on that" ? she veers the discussion to another set of interesting trivia involving her co-star Hrithik. "We came together as a pair really late in our careers after refusing a series of projects. For instance, soon after Hum Dil? we were offered Mission Kashmir. But I couldn't fit it into my schedule because of which the role was slightly changed (and Preity Zinta did it eventually). Then we were almost about to do Krrish, but even that didn't materialize at the last moment," she reveals, adding, "We actually acted together in front of the camera for the first time for an advertisement, before doing Dhoom 2 and Jodhaa-Akbar."

Incidentally, Hrithik has on record stated that Aishwarya is his favourite co-star. "I think we are likeminded people ? much focused and very passionate about our work. The two films that we've done together so far were poles apart and now Sanjay's film will take us into a totally different territory," she reveals.😆

Another film promising to not only take its heroine, Aishwarya, but also Indian cinema into an altogether different territory is Shankar's next Rajnikanth starrer after Shivaji, Robot, which is being touted as a sci-fi film. "Its genre is hard to define. But technically it will take cinema to another level. 😆I can only say that I'll be enriched doing it," avers Aishwarya, adding, "It's a total Rajni- Shankar styled entertainer. There's no logic as to why I agreed to do it beyond the simple urge to work with Rajnikanth. Shankar and Rajni Sir had previously approached me for so many films that it was getting embarrassing to keep refusing them. Ever since we did Jeans together, Shankar has approached me for all his films except Boys. Even Rajni Sir, in spite of being a senior, has never let any ego misconstrue his opinion towards me or change his attitude towards me in spite of my refusing his last four-five films. I admire him for that large-heartedness. It speaks volumes of his caliber as a human being."

So did the too many refusals finally compel her to say 'yes' to Robot? "Robot got an immediate yes from me," states Aishwarya. "I just wanted to work with Rajni Sir and Shankar. He's phenomenal. Everyone speaks of 'this experience of working with Rajnikanth.' So I decided that I too will actually go through the experience. My first film with Shankar, Jeans, was a super-success. I came away learning so much from Jeans and Shankar. Robot too will be a learning experience. It's very important for me to come away with something from my films since I give so much to them."

Case in point undoubtedly are her much admired stunts in her last release Raavan, doing, which had been quite a grueling experience for the dedicated actress. The film may have bombed at the ticket counters but the actress still speaks fondly about her experience. "Why only me, everyone in the film had gone through an equal amount of hardship to create a film we all believed in. Mani Ratnam, Santosh Sivan? each one of us was there together facing the brunt of the weather and the terrain," argues Aishwarya.

But didn't the film's elaborate script prepare her for the experience? "It was still a bit of a shock and surprise when we had to actually face the tough climatic conditions in the jungle. Moreover, Mani loves to make on-the-spot changes, improvising all the time on location. He doesn't want to strictly follow the written word," she explains recalling the shoot of the beautifully photographed, but very obviously difficult to do climbing the rocks sequences in the film's evocatively picturised song Behne de? "There was this huge waterfall where we shot a lot. One never thought of leaping down those heights in and around the waterfall. Of course, we were wired. But once you're going down, there's no control. The rocks were so mossy; we had no control over our movements. We were climbing so close to the waterfall that we could almost feel its power. It was the power of the nature in all its glory," she recalls.

So how did she manage to still emote effectively, while simultaneously performing such dangerous stunts? "That's the magic of the camera and the magic of cinema.😆 As for getting the emotions right, do you think Mani Ratnam would ever relent until he got the emotions he wanted? We'd to go through the most incredibly impossible scenes and then he'd come up to us and say, 'I've got a better idea. Let's do the whole thing again.' I was like, 'Are you for real? Do you know what we're doing?' And then we had to capture the same sequence for the film's Tamil version before the light faded."

Given the relatively higher scale of emotions in southern cinema, was it a tougher or better call doing the film's Tamil version, especially now that it has been better appreciated over the Hindi version. "I haven't seen the Tamil film yet," says Aishwarya adding, "The nuances alter from one language to another but the emotions are the same. Some of the lines were changed to show a difference in culture. What would seem theatrical in Hindi is natural in Tamil. But I didn't consciously move into a different zone in the two languages. Our cameraman, Santosh Sivan, was so innovative. He not only creates fabulous images but also brings magic into the language of a film. Actually Manikandan was doing the cinematography earlier. But you can't tell where and when Santosh took over."

Just as one can't tell where the fluently Hindi speaking Aishwarya in Raavan effortlessly switches onto an equally felt take in Tamil for Raavanan! "I've come a long way as far as dubbing is concerned. I remember during my first Tamil film, Iruvar, I panicked at the language. Now of course I am far more confident. But two films simultaneously in Hindi and Tamil meant that the pressure was full-on. Until we were on the sets none of us knew what pressures we were getting into. After a while Mani started giving me scenes on the sets. He'd humour me saying, 'Come come let's do it.' It was the toughest thing that I've ever done. I'd be standing there, having just completed a harrowing scene with Abhishek, and then without a minute's passing, I'd have to do the same scene with Vikram. We managed doing it because we were passionate about the project to the point of being obsessive. Everyone in the crew lived in the jungles throughout the shoot. We would tell one another that we were on a picnic or a safari adventure.

But deep within only we knew what we were going through," she informs, adding, "Everyone ? myself, Abhishek, Vikram and Mani ? fell ill. Such things do happen when you have to remain drenched from head to toe. As kids we are always taught to keep our head dry. And here I was getting drenched from early morning to late night. There was no point in drying myself as I would be soaked again in seconds."

Her passion for Raavan is palpable as she speaks untiringly of a truly memorable shoot. No wonder, in spite of the negative postmortem following the film's release, Aishwarya is still assured of the craft of the director she debuted with. "Mani Ratnam is a master at creating magical moments out of the seemingly most ordinary. In the process what he achieves is incredible. Just the pleasure of working with him again (after Iruvar and Guru) was amazing," she concludes.

Indeed, films may rise or fall and projects may sink or swim, but for an actress on a forever creative ascent in her craft, making movie magic is a journey that's only fueled further by the odds in the flow.

-Stardust