Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to play a negative role in her next which is a period drama

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will play the power hungry wife of Mohan Babu in her next by Mani Ratnam which is a period drama

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who was last seen in Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao's 'Fanney Khan' has reportedly bagged her next movie and audience will get to see the blue-eyed beauty in an avatar she isn't seen in too often. Aishwarya is set to play a baddie! Yes, Aishwarya will play a negative character in Mani Ratnam's period drama which is set in the 10^th century. The film is based on the life of the great Chola Emperor Arulmozhi Varman and Aishwarya will be playing the manipulative wife of the emperor and her character's name would be 'Nandini'. Aishwarya will be reuniting with Mani Ratnam in her next which is based on the historical Tamil novel, Ponniyin Selvan. The film will reportedly be multi-lingual period drama. Mohan Babu would be seen playing Ash's hubby and as Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, say reports. As per a daily, “The story takes place in the 10th century before Raja Chola became a king. Aishwarya will be seen as Nandini, the wife of Periya Pazhuvettaraiyar, who served as the chancellor and treasurer of the Chola kingdom. Her character is written as a mysterious, power-hungry woman who manipulates her husband to plan the downfall of the Chola Empire because she has been wronged by them.” Ash's character is of a power craving female who plays games and manipulates her hubby to bring the king's fall. Actress had earlier worked with Mani Ratnam in films like 'Iruvar', 'Guru' and 'Raavan'. ALSO - After Anushka Sharma & Jacqueline Fernandez, now fans find the doppelganger of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan! A source close to the development told a leading daily, “Aishwarya was approached for the project last year. But she bid her time, understanding the layers of her character before giving the nod last month. Contrary to reports, Amitabh Bachchan is not part of the movie. Mohan Babu will play Aishwarya's husband.” Aishwarya did play grey characters earlier in two movies too, one of which was 'Khakee' (2005) opposite Akshay Kumar and the other 'Dhoom' (2006) opposite Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan.