Hindi cinema star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan may have scaled peaks, but still counts her stint with ace director Shankar in 'Jeans' an integral part of her career 'which taught me so much.'

'Working in Jeans (starring Prashant) remains an integral part. It taught me so much--technically and content wise and now I am having a wonderful time working in Enthiran (the sci-fi flick starring Tamil superstar Rajnikanth, directed by Shankar),' she said.

In one of her rare public appearances in this southern metropolis last evening, Ash, as she is fondly known among her fans, lauded Shankar when she said, 'he makes incredible movies.'

The 'Guru' star, who is now working in her third project with celebrated filmmaker Maniratnam in 'Ravana', confessed that she too was a member of the audience.'I am as much as a member of an audience as much as the film fraternity,' she said to loud applause at the audio launch of 'Rettaisuzhi', produced by Shankar.

Rai started off her brief address in chaste Tamil, greeting the audience but soon switched over to English. Nevertheless, she seemed to understand Tamil, as she was seen reacting to remarks and observations made by other speakers.

Veteran Tamil directors K Balachander and Bharathirajaa, both of whom are credited with redefining the content of Tamil cinema with their revolutionary and rustic subjects, share the screenspace for the first time in the film, being directed by Shankar's associate Thamira.