Simply Ash-tonishing!

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">Aishwarya Rai has put on weight! Tons of it. And she’s still growing. At an alarming rate of calories per second. So what is one to do? Call the WWA (Weight-Watchers Anonymous)? Not really ... And before the star-steroid pushers get guilt attacks and start singing ''It wasn''t me...'', let me clear the fogs of ignorance here.<br />True, Ash has put on weight ... but it’s not for her bathroom scale to pop its springs in panic. The lady with the mostest has gained alright, but the calories are mainly in the star-muscle department. And it is there that Ms Rai has put on muscle enough to qualify as heavyweight in the latest issue of the muscle-bound ''Star Power List''.<br />Right from the beautiful model, to the even more embellished beauty queen to donning the Ms World crown to the top actress in Tinselville today, Ash has continued putting on ''weight'' and she''s still growing!<br />The throne of Celluloid queen has long been hers. It was only last year that the beautiful queen was distracted a wee bit from her queenly duties, by her tumultuous private life. With break-ups, tears and acrimonious denials in print, the lady gave a li''l bit of rope to her rivals. But then Marie Antoinette had personal problems enough to give her ''head aches. Here all that was threatened was the ''Ash''en crown. But not for long.<br />It wasn''t soon enough that our Paro got her groove back. <br />And the slap to the rivals was a Hollywood offer, a role in the Hinglish <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Pride and Prejudice</span> under the baton of Gurinder Chadha (with hundred apologies to Jane Austen), an alleged meeting with M Night Shyamalan (<span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Signs</span> of global superstardom?); offers of classics galore in Indian cinema and an Oscar run for her 2002 film <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span>; which, incidentally, is poised to sweep every award this year for her. Whew! Talk about muscle.<br />Which brings us a full circle. After last year’s epic Bengali classic, WHAT? Lots, if one is to go by the star-steroid pumping up the Ash-adrenalin.<br />With the Bengali sentiment in her back pocket post <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Devdas</span>, to do the iconic Rituparno Ghosh''s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chokher Bali </span>(it means ''sand in your eyes'' and not an accessory list of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">chokers </span>and <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">baalis </span>as I, the Bong ignoramus – shame on me – had thought earlier). As if playing Paro wasn''t enough to convince them, this was the clincher enough to make every Bengali proud of his ''arts'' (and there aren''t many who are not) a fan of the Rai. More muscle in the power game, eh?<br />And then the KO punch. Ash turns producer. With brother Aditya co-producing the latest <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Dil Ka Rishta</span>, and momma Vrinda creating the story, it was bound to be an author-backed role for this amazing role model. <br />"It was the logical next step ... and I was bound to be mom''s first choice, na...?" I heard Ash say at the many Press Conferences to promote the slickly made product. <br />Actually, Ash would be anyone''s first choice. Just given the beautiful mind, leave alone the flawless beauty that she possesses. Just like the Rembrandt or Picasso that we all want, but find too difficult to possess? Just like that. <br />And at the rate she''s growing, it won''t be long before she''s hot in Beverly Hills too. I can actually see the Hollywood hurrah for our pretty woman past compare. And remember you read it in the ''O'' Spot first. <br />Didn''t I just say Ash has put on weight? It''s all in the power department.<br /><br /><br /></div> </div>