Aishwarya Rai chooses mentor Mani Ratnam for comeback

The former beauty-queen-turned-actor has chosen to return to the big screen with filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who she also chose to make her debut with, back in 1997, through Iruvar. The announcement was made by Ratnam’s wife Suhasini.

Speculation about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s much-awaited ­comeback has been finally put to rest. The former beauty-queen-turned-actor has chosen to return to the big screen with filmmaker Mani Ratnam, who she also chose to make her debut with, back in 1997, through Iruvar. Ash was last seen in Guzaarish (2010) before marriage (in 2007) and ­motherhood (2011).

Aishwarya-Rai-Bachchan

The announcement was made by Ratnam’s wife Suhasini. She said that the film is a “Tamil-Telugu bi-lingual film, a spy-thriller, an espionage film like Mission Impossible and Bourne Identity”. The shooting begins in June. A well-placed source close to Aishwarya also confirmed the ­development, saying, “Yes, Aishwarya will be doing Mani Ratnam’s next.”

The film is an interesting development for several ­reasons. First, Aishwarya has picked her debut director for her first project after the pregnancy break. Both she and Ratnam have also worked together in films such as Guru (2007) and Raavan (2010). Also, instead of ­choosing a mainstream Hindi film, the actor has selected a Tamil-Telugu film.

“The film also stars Tamil stars Mahesh Babu and Nagarjuna, and Shruti Hassan in the second lead,” says Suhasini. While Ash remained unavailable for comment, it is interesting to note that the choice comes despite being offered not just Bollywood but also big Hollywood movies.