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No comparison: Aishwarya

Rekha.

MUMBAI: As she prepares for the release of her much talked about new film ``Umrao Jaan'', Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai has dismissed any comparison between her performance in the upcoming movie and that of Rekha in the original version by Muzaffar Ali.

``Comparisons have been made up by the media. But when I went to shoot the movie, I went with a clean slate of mind. I only followed the instructions given to me by my director,'' Aishwarya told reporters in suburban Juhu on Thursday.

Asked whether she had drawn inspiration from Rekha's widely acclaimed portrayal of the central character, Aishwarya said, ``Having watched the movie on television and the songs being part of film folklore, I did have a visual image of the character. But as far as content was concerned, I went in with a clean slate.''

Aishwarya Rai.

Describing the role as an ``educating experience'', she said: ``As someone who takes great pride in Indian culture, it was a great experience to learn about the kind of language, clothes and lifestyle that was prevalent in the times that the story is based in. It gave me a new insight into our culture.''

The movie, which also stars Abhishek Bachchan and Shabana Azmi, is due for release next week on November 3.

Asked why she and Abhishek had not been seen at promotional events together, Aishwarya said, ``It is merely because of our schedules. There is no other reason.'' - PTI.

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No comparison: Aishwarya

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