After opting out of Madhur Bhadarkar's Heroine due to her pregnancy, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will reportedly be starring in Mani Ratnam's next. The film will be an adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's 1938 novel Rebecca.

Ash and Ratnam go back a long way. Her cinematic debut, Iruvar in 1997 was directed by him. They worked again ten years later in Guru. The same year she got married. They again worked in 2010 in Raavan. Whenever Ratnam has offered Ash a role or a script, she has always respected it. This time too, it was the same," a source told Mumbai Mirror.

"Rebecca, the novel is about a newly married woman who is constantly compared to the first wife of her husband by the housekeeper. While she feels belittled by the shadow of the deceased lady of the house, she later realises that her husband was never in love earlier. Ratnam is currently adapting the entire novel into a more contemporary Indian setup," the tabloid quoted the source as saying.

The film is said to go on the floors late next year.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been out of Bollywood scene for a while now. Her last film was Guzaarish in 2010. She has been busy taking care of her first child, Aaradhya, who is now 10-months-old.

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