Aishwarya Rai is the main villain in Pink Panther 2

Contraty to the rumours, Aishwarya Rai is not playing a cameo in Pink Panther 2, rather she would be seen in a siezable chunk of the film's climax as the main villain.

If grapevine is to be believed, Ash who's playing criminology expert in the film will turn out to be actually the person behind the theft of Pink Panther diamond.

According to rumours, the actress plays a seductress in the film who deceives Steve using her beauty and charm. The film is all set to release on February 27 in India.

Aishwarya Rai : Aishwarya Rai most bankable Indian star in Hollywood

Aishwarya Rai has listed by Forbes as India’s most bankable star in Hollywood, pushing down the Khans of Bollywood in the ratings of the best bet for a film’s financial success.

Aishwarya is among six Bollywood actors in the new Forbes list of Hollywood’s Most Valuable Actors. Other Indians on the list compiled by the American business magazine are Aamir Khan, Shah Rukh Khan, Salman Khan, Irrfan Khan and Hrithik Roshan.

Although at 387th position in the global list of as many as 1,411 actors from across the world, Aishwarya is ranked highest among all Indian actors and is the only female actor from the country who made it to this elite club.

The list also includes Indian American actor Kal Penn, whose films include “The Namesake”. At 476th position, he is ranked higher than all the Bollywood actors, except Aishwarya Rai, who stars in the new Hollywood venture “The Pink Panther 2″.

Among the male Bollywood actors, Aamir is ranked highest at 540th in the global list, followed by Shah Rukh (735), Salman (753), Irrfan (825) and Hrithik (1,059).

The global list, topped by Hollywood actor Will Smith, is based on the bankability of actors around the world as voted by members of the global entertainment industry, Forbes said.

Smith is the only actor to get a ten-on-ten score and is followed by four Hollywood stars - Johnny Depp, Brad Pitt, Leonardo DiCaprio and Angelina Jolie - sharing the second position.

These are followed by Tom Hanks, George Clooney, Denzel Washington, Matt Damon and Jack Nicholson in the top 10.

Hot Aishwarya Rai at The Premiere of "Pink Panther 2"

Hot Aishwarya Rai in Pink Dress.

Is Ash a thief?

There’s more to Aishwarya Rai

Bachchan’s role in Pink Panther 2 than the rumoured two minutes of screen space, it

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

seems.

In fact, if the buzz is to be believed, the movie would be incomplete without her role. The actress is apparently playing the main villain in the movie! “She is actually the one who steals the Pink Panther diamond, and in the end, Steve Martin finds out,” says a source close to the unit of the movie.

Aishwarya plays the role of Sonia Solandres, a criminology expert, in the film. She is part of the team of detectives who are trying to find the Pink Panther diamond. But in the end, Inspector Clouseau figures out that Sonia, played by Ash, is the real culprit and no criminology expert. “The climax has a fight scene where Ash even kicks some butt and tries to flee. But eventually, she gets caught and is put behind bars,” says the source.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan plays Sita

THE BACHCHAN Bahu and winner of the Padmashri Award, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, seems all set to play her part as Sita like a perfectionist in Mani Ratnam’s forthcoming film, Ravana. Ash has been cast opposite her dear hubby, Abhishek Bachchan, in the film.

Those who saw her during the shooting of this film on the banks of the river ‘Hoogly’ in Kolkata, said that the actress truly looked like the modern version of Goddess Sita in her maroon sari with a black sleeveless top and hardly any ornaments to adorn her. Ash’s Sita look has been created by noted designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee.

Earlier, Ash has been seen in various different kinds of roles and has done justice to them. All of Ash’s fans out there are sure that she will portray a remarkable role equally remarkably this time around in Ravana too. While her look in the movie is certainly something to watch out for, let’s hope her acting is likewise and that she does not disappoint us!

Aishwarya Rai as Sonia in The Pink Panther 2

Aishwarya Rai as Sonia in The Pink Panther 2. I think it's time to shelve comparisons of Peter Sellers iconic take of Inspector Jacques Clouseau with that of Steve Martin's. Take it like a total reboot, not necessarily for the better of course, since the franchise thus far has taken Clouseau into more slapstick, as well as quite surprisingly, turning him into both a sexist and a racist, excuses being he's a total nincompoop.

Scott Neustadter and Michael H. Weber's story makes no apologies in being offensive and politically incorrect, and taking Jacques Clouseau in the same direction of distaste deliberately, so that some non-witty exchange could take place between Steve Martin and Lily Tomlin, who plays the etiquette officer locking horns with Clouseau to try and rehabilitate his crude mannerisms. Some jokes too get repackaged and recycled in a different form, carrying over one hamburger joke too many left over from the first Martin-Pink Panther movie in 2006.

In fact, not only does that get brought over, but the entire plot involving international heists committed by the mysterious Tornado, unfortunately had a similar Eureka moment to 2006's, proving that lightning does get to strike twice in a plot that feels right at home to a Scooby Doo cartoon. Given renowned and valuable artifacts being stolen from their exhibition home, including The Pink Panther diamond, an international Dream Team of detectives get assembled to solve the crime, headed none other than Clouseau himself, based on his past conquest in retrieving the diamond.

So with that comes an opportunity to put an international ensemble cast together, which actually seemed a good idea, if not for an average story involving love triangles against a backdrop of crime-solving which breezed through quite quickly. Returning are John Cleese (well, since Bond didn't requier a quartermaster for fancy gadgets, he's got to look for a job, right?), Jean Reno as Ponton the Watson to Clouseau's Holmes, and Emily Mortimer as Clouseau's secretary Nicole with whom we learn they share plenty of personal romantic time together in a restaurant scene that played on too long.