Aishwarya, Abhishek, Hrithik party as Jodha Akbar is finally complete

Aishwarya Rai in 'Jodhaa Akbar' promo. Photo Credit: Sawf News / TV Grab
16 November 2007 (Sawf News) - Aishwarya Rai, Hrithik Roshan and Ashutosh Gowarikar, along with their spouses, celebrated the completion of the UTV magnum opus Jodhaa Akbar with a wrap up party Monday, November 12.

The stars finally relaxed after an arduous assignment. They reminisced over the filming and then hit the dance floor.




Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in 'Jodhaa Akbar' promo. Photo Credit: Sawf News / TV Grab
According to a Mumbai Mirror source, "Hrithik, Abhishek and Ash were seen making the best out of their dancing skills. Though Hrithik and Susanne left a bit early, Ash and Abhishek continued to have a great time. Abhishek took over as the DJ while Ash and the rest of the gang were seen dancing to the songs that he played."

The production of the film, which was initially set for release during the Id / Diwali period, was plagued by cost and schedule overruns attributed to the complexity of making a period drama with war scenes set in the sixteenth century.




Aishwarya Rai in 'Jodhaa Akbar' promo. Photo Credit: Sawf News / TV Grab
The film is a mix of facts and fiction and dwells on how a political alliance through an arranged marriage between Jodhaa (Aishwarya) and Akbar (Hrithik) turned into love and first bonded the Mughal and Rajput empires and then the two communities - Hindu and Muslim.

Shooting war scenes involving horses and elephants and authentically recreating the Moghul period to the exacting standards of director Ashutosh Gowarikar proved challenging.




Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai in 'Jodhaa Akbar' promo. Photo Credit: Sawf News / TV Grab
The release date of the film was put back to January 25 and at one point even that had looked like an unattainable target.

Initially budgeted at Rs 50 crore the film is now estimated to have cost Rs 60 crores.




Aishwarya Rai in 'Jodhaa Akbar' promo. Photo Credit: Sawf News / TV Grab
Gowarikar gave a short speech at the Monday bash in which he acknowledged the delays and thanked Hrithik and Aishwarya for their patience and co-operation.

Aishwarya, Abhishek join AIDS campaign

Bollywood’s hottest couple Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan joined kids at Ashray, a home for HIV affected children.

It was time to do something on World AIDS Day on December 1. Both enjoyed brilliant performances by children and afterward distributed goodies to the kids.




The designer duo, Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla, who have been backing up Ashray since 2001, made all the arrangements of the event.

Abhishek said, “They had invited me in 2001 since then I have been coming frequently to Ashray. Abu, Sandeep are uncle to me, they are my family. This year we have been lucky enough to bring Aishwarya also as our new family member.”

"As people I we are all on the same boat. We are only happy to be here to support and share such a wonderful evening with these kids. They are simply happy and they teach us a lot on the ways of life," said Ash.

In the recent past, the pair has been spending quite some time interacting with youngsters on different occasions.