INDIAN BEAUTY ICON AISHWARYA RAI IMAGES

Finally it is Aishwarya Rai Bacchan! The glamorous actress is to star opposite Tamil film icon Rajnikant in sci-fi film "Robot" though there is no official confirmation from either the producer or director.

Aishwarya told the media that she would be pairing with Rajnikant in the movie being directed by Shankar. This will be her second project with Shankar after "Jeans", which released in 1998. She had starred opposite Prashant in "Jeans".

Two weeks ago, Shankar had signed up superstar Rajnikant for the lead role in "Robot". Since then, the media has speculated on Aishwarya or Deepika Padukone for the lead opposite Rajni.

According to the film industry sources, Shankar was in Mumbai with the script and the former Miss World responded positively after "having gone through the script thoroughly".

Even for Shankar's "Sivaji: The Boss", rumour mills had predicted Aishwarya as the female lead opposite Rajnikant, but low-profile Shriya Sharan was roped in at the end.

One of Rajnikant's daughters is also named Aishwarya.

After the success of "Sivaji: The Boss", Shankar announced that he will repeat the 57-year-old actor in "Robot" - a Rs.1 billion film, which the industry predicts will be a greater success.

Both Rajni and Shankar are reportedly keen on "Robot" becoming an international success.

Maestro A.R. Rahman will compose the music. The film will be released in Hindi, Tamil and Telugu languages and will be distributed by London-based Ayingaran International.