After a long hiatus, former beauty queens and actors Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sushmita Sen may finally be out of the doldrums.
Once competitors in the Miss India 1994 beauty contest, Aishwarya and Sushmita were selected to represent India in the Miss World and Miss Universe pageants respectively, which they also won.
Now, the two former beauty queens may be sharing the screen together. Following the birth of Aishwarya’s daughter Aaradhya, the rumour mill was churning out that the Devdas diva will be making a comeback, reports the Times of India.
According to reports, she has shown interest in Prahlad Kakkad’s directorial debut film Happy Anniversary, where, if the deal is sealed, she will be seen opposite husband Abhishek Bachchan. The couple is presently going through the script of the film, which will be produced by Gaurang Doshi.
Recently, Kakkad approached Sushmita to play an important supporting role in the film. Sources said that he met the actor and when offered the role, she reportedly loved it. Kakkad confirmed, “If all goes well, we should have Sushmita in Happy Anniversary. It will be a pleasure to work with her.”
Earlier in the day, Aishwarya and Sushmita were said to share cold relations. Having been part of the same competition, Sushmita beat Aishwarya in the running to be chosen as Miss Universe and subsequently, the latter, who was the first runners-up, was chosen for the Miss World contest.
In an interview with indiatoday.in in 1994, Aishwarya said, “The Miss India contest was very narrow between Sushmita and me, so the [judges] thought if she could get Miss Universe, I could bag Miss World.”
However, according to a source close to the film, the rivalry between the two ladies is long over. “If both are satisfied with the length and quality of their respective roles, they won’t allow their personal equation to come in the way,” the source said.
Kakkad will share the script with Sushmita next week. “She wants to read it and judge the role for herself. Fair enough.” He commented. Her character is that of a woman who is stuck in a bad marriage and eventually breaks free.
Aishwarya’s character begins with a 21-year-old version of her and the story unfolds over the next eight years. She will later be seen pregnant with twins.
Happy Anniversary deals with the topic of marital problems and will be mainly shot in South Africa.
Aishwarya, who was panned for gaining weight post-pregnancy, is currently losing a few more kilos before she is seen on reel. A friend of hers shares that she may possibly start shooting for a Mani Ratnam film soon.
We can’t wait to see the former queens who reigned over our hearts together on the big screen.
Published in The Express Tribune, March 28th, 2014.
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