Rumours have doing the rounds over the last couple of days that Aishwarya Rai met with an accident while shooting for the Gurinder Chadha-produced Mistress Of Spices.
Thankfully, there is no cause for concern as the star is fine and well, and work on the adaptation of the Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni novel is progressing on schedule. The film is being directed by Chadha's husband, Paul Mayeda Berges and is being shot on the Isle of Man off the coast of Ireland.
An insider is dismissive of the gossip: 'What are you talking about? No such accident. Scurrilous rumour, methinks. On the contrary, Paul, Ash and the movie are doing extremely well. The rushes are fantastic, and the chemistry between Ash and Dylan (McDermott, Rai's co-star) is superb. Paul is totally in control, and is making a very sensual and sensitive movie. Santosh's (Sivan) camera work is also outstanding! Paul has also shot scenes with Anupam (Kher that are outstanding -- he has aged and plays a grandfather.'
Mistress Of Spices is slated for a release later in 2005.
Shooting on this schedule ends on Saturday, and Miramax, distributors of Chadha's just released film Bride & Prejudice in the US, hope to fly Ash to Los Angeles where she has been invited to present an Oscar on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Bride, the insider adds, is picking up fans in America by the bushel. The latest apparently being rock legend Prince. The film is also doing very well in Germany. Chadha and Ash can now happily poke their fingers in the faces of Indian critics and say 'So, you thought the film was not good enough? America and Europe doesn't think so!'
