Aishwarya Rai

The myth that Aishwarya Rai will only work with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, ends with her signing a movie opposite John Abraham.

Despite the dilly-dallying, Aishwarya is finally doing Sriram Raghavan’s love story about an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation.

After Jodhaa Akbar and Sarkar Raj, Ash will be seen in a realistic mould. Raghavan says, “Aishwarya has given dates from January as she has some endorsements to take care of this month. I’ve got John’s dates till February. I hope to complete 70 to 80 per cent of the film.”

The director admits there’s more shooting to be done with John. “It wasn’t an easy script to write. Aishwarya and John were my first and last choices.”

Sounding like his ex-boss Ram Gopal Varma protégé, Raghavan sighs, “It’s a very true-to-life story, with a touch of incredulity. The challenge is to make two very glamourous stars look real.”

In the meanwhile, Shriram’s next project Agent Vinod for Saif’s production house is also a hero-oriented tale. He laughs, “One of these days I’ll write a women-oriented movie like Erin Brockovich or Thelma & Louise.”