Hollywood next step, next year, says Aishwarya

Actress Aishwarya Rai today said she would make her Hollywood debut next year. ‘‘I had excellent meetings in the US. I have come back with a number of scripts. I am open to work in the later half of next year,’’ Rai said in Bangalore. Stepping into Hollywood, she said, meant ‘‘representing Indian talent’’. Rai was in the US recently for a charity show. ‘‘I have tied up with the managers,’’ Rai said, adding that a press announcement about a forthcoming Hollywood project would be made shortly.

‘‘After the Cannes festival, the response (to Devdas) from the international audience was very positive,’’ she said. The former Miss World said that starring in an English film meant no more than acting in a language movie like Tamil or Bangla. ‘‘It is just another film.’’

Rai said she is starting work from Sunday on Rituparna Ghosh’s Bangla movie. ‘‘Besides Tamil, this is the other language in which I am acting. Time permitting and if the script inspires and excites me, I will do it,’’ she said.