If someone told my mother that Ash was an embarrassment to other Indian women, she’d beat the lady upside her head. Okay, not really, but she’d give them a severe telling, that’s for sure.

If I can just jump in here for a second...I don't think it's that a lot of us 'fellow NRIs' loathe Ash, it's that most have a hard time relating to her. That factor is what made Madhuri Dixit so special in her prime.

Everyone was rooting for her through Miss India, Miss World, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Taal, and even Devdas. And then she found a way to stay within her bubble, and since then, she's been rightfully referred to as the 'kaanch ki gudiya' (porcelain doll) of India. From my experience, I can tell you that that is what the majority of us Indian (NRI included) guys think of her.

Having said that, I don't think that she's a disgrace to Indian women at all (that would be Bipasha Basu at the New 7 Wonders ceremony last year). In fact, Ash has been an ambassador of sorts to the 'outside world' for what makes the Indian woman appealing. In so doing, though, she has undoubtedly alienated herself from a vast segment of 'her own' people.

And then there are episodes like her comments aimed at Katrina Kaif, after Kaif was declared 'sexiest woman' by FHM India. Uncalled for, and just classless. She'd be so much better off focusing on her films instead (for the record, I liked her in Jodhaa Akbar). Come to think of it, Bollywood would be so much better off if people just focused more on improving themselves, and let their acting do the talking, instead of engaging in self-indulgence for a majority of the time.

If the children were fantastic actors, like those that initiated the bubble of entitlement (esp. Amitabh, of course), then sure, they can would have earned the right to be called great artists. I think the issue with Abhi-Ash is that while being so full of themselves, they ignore the audience. I remember in 2005, when Bunty Aur Babli was released, Abhishek was on Film Cafe (Love Bollywood was formerly called that) and said something very close to, "My father is the greatest actor this world has ever seen, and no one can touch him. He is God". Since then, I haven't been a fan, of course.

Ash, on the other hand, went from being well-liked during the Miss World campaign, and through Devdas, after which I think she became too big for her own good. One can argue about how she's handled it -- I agree with you that she's not dull -- but it'd be nice to not be an attention you-know-what all the time. Not sure if you caught this Salman Khan post (http://duskadum.blogspot.com/2008/07/day-33-10-ka-dum.html) (somewhat related) ;)

And I'll end with this Margaret Thatcher quote: "Being powerful is like being a lady. If you have to tell people you are, you aren’t". I do believe they're self-proclaimed 'great artists'. It'd be nice if they could act better and consistently deliver good products of film. :)

The celebrity status is there (and somewhat sad to declare greatness, I agree), but it'll be interesting to see how long they sustain it for. At the rate they're going, they're clearly not among the top tier of acting talent in Bollywood (Abhi more than Ash, I think). I'm still waiting for that blockbuster with Abhishek (and only him, no SRK/Hrithik) in the lead.

Abhishek's recently expressed his interest in working with Aamir Khan (who wouldn't?), and Aamir's seemed open to it (why would he say anything otherwise?).

And then that certain segment of the media wants Aamir's head after Amitabh Bachchan posted a blog entry in which he said some members of the film fraternity are trying to 'bring down' the show. Depending on how one looks at that statement, it's either silly, or full of hate. In either case, nothing good stems from it. And this after Aamir's been bragging about Bachchan's praise for his nephew and Genelia. As Aamir once said, "I feel sorry for the people who choose to do this for a living."

And I trust Amitabh in that his comment was not aimed at SRK or Aamir. But I am really disappointed in his approach, regardless of who it's aimed it. If this is how he wishes people remember him, then so be it.

I heard the same LoveBollywood interview and I don't know, I mainly rolled my eyes at the RGV fanpersonism. As of Abhi-Aish, not the most lovable I've heard of them (I like Abhi in interviews, he can be very jokey and just plain funny) but alright. I think they still have miles to climb in terms of acting (ohgod especially Aishwarya) but it sounded like they recognized that, even though they might've also been a little pretentious about their current talents.

Are you kidding me? Omg I hated her in D2. I liked her in Jodha-Akbar and Guru, though my favourite roles of her are in her Tamil films, Kandukondain Kandukondain and Iruvar.

I liked D2 as a cheesy action flick, sure, but Aish was my least favourite thing about it ...

Haha, perhaps! No, seriously speaking, I think it's just the fact she needs a good director.

Heehee! I love that you qualify your reply with, "Working now?" Sign of a true fan!

Re: the arrogance of actors. I'm going to make an Evil Generalization, but watching interviews is usually a horrible mythos-destroying exercise for me, since I'm always disappointed by the actor's personality. This is probably my own fault for conflating them with the character that I adore. Some notable exceptions to this generalization are:
-Shashi Kapoor. At least, he struck me in this Rajshri interview (http://www.rajshri.com/timesnow/franklyspeaking/nowplaying.asp?band=low&fileID=franklyspeakingtalkshow180) and the interview on the Junoon DVD as being wonderfully even-tempered, thoughtful, and... well, normal! After watching those interviews, I had to power up and become the Biggest Shashi Fan Ever (from being just a Big Shashi Fan).
-SRK. He seems wily and intelligent and, as people before me have noted, he has this great self-deprecating wit. I think that makes sense: to be so huge, you'd have to be ambitious and intelligent, and I feel like SRK knows exactly how to play his image while also gently teasing it. Hence the wonderfulness of his Farah Khan-ified avatar!
-Gary Oldman. Apropos of Batman... actually, I just like being stunned by how different his real voice (so high! so Cockney!) is compared to what we're used to in film.

the PPCC

If anything, Letterman comes off as being stupid in that interview. Seriously, what's wrong with the man? You work in films... in India. You... act? What language do you speak there? More than one, really?!

DO SOME RESEARCH BEFORE YOU INTERVIEW SOMEONE, LETTERMAN.

As for Ash, I haven't seen enough of her to be able to say anything much about her persona, or her acting talent.

I think Abhi and Ash are sadly bringing out the worst in each other. His joking and ribbing people is funny (at least used to be) but when she tries it she isn't (I don't think she has much of a sense of humor). And her self-confidence and poise is rubbing off on him as arrogance.

I agree with the lady, heh. I always cite that Letterman interview as an example of her giggly stupid annoyingness, too. There's also a 60 Minutes interview that is similarly painful to watch.