Agency report

Chennai, Oct 17: Aishwarya Rai made a special appearance outside of movie filming for the first time in many years today, when she came to inaugurate India's first exclusive Longines boutique at Park Sheraton, Chennai. Though she turned up an hour after the appointed time of 12 noon, Aishwarya arrived resplendent in a pale pink sari, sporting her favourite Longines watch.

She spoke briefly to the press right outside the boutique, talking about how happy she was to be associated with a brand whose motto matches hers. The media was in frenzy, with numerous people vying for the perfect shot of beautiful Ash!

When asked about her latest movie Guru with Mani Ratnam (the man who started off her movie career with Iruvar), and her emotional attachment to the city and Tamil film industry, Aishwarya claimed that she had a special affinity for the Tamil film industry.

In her own words, she took her baby steps here with Iruvar, Jeans and Kandukonden Kandukonden. She is delighted to be back here 10 years later working on Guru with Mani Ratnam, Rajeev Menon, A.R.Rahman and team. She said, "I'm happy to be back on a film which I think is going to turn out splendid!"

Aishwarya was back in Chennai on Monday after a rigorous shooting schedule of Guru in Madurai and Karaikudi. Though many other members of the press were waiting for their allotted two minutes to interview her, she had to leave due to her tight schedule.