Aishwarya Rai celebrates 33, like wine, gets better with time

By Stone Martindale Oct 30, 2006, 17:07 GMT

Stunner from the East-Ash... EPA/HARISH TYAGI

Aishwarya Rai, said to be cooking up a screen date with Will Smith sometime soon, turns the ripe old age of 33 this week, as she returns to the cinema after a hiatus tending her sick father.  Ash plays a courtesan in 'Umrao Jaan' and a siren in 'Dhoom 2'.

The actress is dating Abhishek Bachchan, and Indian media speculates that she will reportedly announce her engagement on her birthday. According to insiders, Abhishek's ailing grandmother Teji Bachchan wants her grandson to get hitched, and the couple is said to be planning to tie the knot early next year.

Aishwarya is super discreet about all her affairs of the heart.

Bollywood's darling is currently busy promoting her two films. In Yash Raj Films' upcoming 'Dhoom 2', Aishwarya plays a hi-tech thief along with Hrithik Roshan, while in J.P. Dutta's 'Umrao Jaan', a screen adaptation of Mirza Mohammed Haadi Ruswa's Urdu.

Hollywood is on her immediate horizon, as she already enjoys many western fans.