Bollywood actress, model and Miss World of 1994, Aishwarya Rai has started filming the sequel to The Pink Panther in Paris. At the same time, the first time in her career Aishwarya has gone completely make-up free for Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar 2 and the director says he had the time of his life shooting with her...

A follow up exclusive from Sawf News on the role Aishwarya plays in the film will be published shortly. It will dispel recent reports that it is a bit role that was offered to and rejected by Celina Jaitley.

She is obviously very desirable in the West because of her beauty. She has definitely come a far way since Miss World.

In the meantime, for the first time in her career Aishwarya has gone completely make-up free for Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar 2 and the director says he had the time of his life shooting with her, reports Subhash K. Jha in Times of India. "I was wondering what she had in store as I had never worked with her before. And considering the sequel to Sarkar is a dark, intense, raw and real film, I was apprehensive about how far Aishwarya would be able to shed her immense glamour, Varma told IANS."

But the Bachchan bahu took him by surprise. “She shocked me with her performance. Without too many rehearsals and certainly without attending any pre-shoot workshop Aishwarya has stood up to Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek in every scene. Audiences will be shocked with her performance,” Varma said as cited by Times of India.

“I can’t see the film working without her. But to quote me as saying the film could have worked without Mr. Bachchan and Abhishek but not without Aishwarya is like saying the Godfather could do without Brando and Pacino,” he added.