Ponniyin Selvan actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan once rejected Brad Pitt and Will Smith's films

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is gearing up for the release of Mani Ratnam's magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan: I

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is gearing up for the release of Mani Ratnam's magnum opus, Ponniyin Selvan: I. The actress plays plays Nandini, the Queen of Pazhuvoor in the film, which has an ensemble cast comprising Vikram, Karthi, Trisha, Jayam Ravi, Jayaram, Aishwarya Lekshmi, Sarathkumar and Sobhita Dhulipala.

The plot, which is based on Kalki Krishnamurthy's epic novel, Ponniyin Selvan, revolves around the early life of prince Arulmozhi Varman who went on to be known as Raja Raja Cholan. The makers today announced that the teaser of the film will be out tomorrow. The makers have already released a glimpse, with the caption, "Look out! Brace yourself. Get ready for an adventure. The Cholas are coming! #PS1 @madrastalkies_ #ManiRatnam (sic)."

Aishwarya was last seen in Fanney Khan (2018), a musical comedy written and directed by Atul Manjrekar. The actress shared screen space with Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao in the film. The actress had appeared in a host of English films between 2000 and 2010, including, The Mistress of Spices, Bride & Prejudice, The Last Legion, Provoked, and The Pink Panther 2.

A recent report says that Aishwarya was offered roles in Will Smith's films, Hitch, Seven Pounds, and Tonight He Comes as well. She was also offered to play the leading lady in Brad Pitt's Troy.

According to Pinkvilla story, though the actress was considered for the films, she declined the offers. The report stated that Brad Pitt had had expressed that the collaboration did not happen in Troy, though he wished it to be. He added that if given a chance, he would like to work with her since she was a versatile actress, who has a huge appeal in the west. It is said that Aishwarya declined the offer as the role had some uncomfortable scenes and it eventually went to Rose Byrne. Aishwarya had appeared on the talk show The Oprah Winfrey Show along with husband, actor Abhishek Bachchan. She had even gifted a sari to Oprah.

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