Hollywood - (Ass Mess): Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai is to star alongside Steve Martin, Andy Garcia, John Cleese and Alfred Molina in a Pink Panther sequel that will see her topping the bill as an elusive cat burglar out to steal the fabled Koh-I-Noor diamond from the Tower of London.
Rai will add that all-important touch of glamor to this second Panther remake after mixed reactions to last year's production.
The script features Rai performing a series of dare-devil stunts akin to those played by Tom Cruise in Mission Impassible as she outwits British military security to snatch the fabled gem from the Royal Crown Jewels House before attempting to repatriate it to the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh.
Studio bosses at MGM are said to be pleased with the new plotlines for the movie which were hurriedly negotiated once Rai had agreed to take on the starring role in the film.
But a few spoilers have been allowed out into the media claiming Aishwarya in fact plays a detective hunting the thief of a rival precious stone called the Pink Panther.
"The name Pink Panther has always been a bit of an in-joke," studio bosses said today.
"It refers to a part of female anatomy often alluded to as 'pussy' and completes the ancient soubriquet "Every woman is sitting on a fortune if only she knew it".
John Cleese is 69.
