Ash to crack down on fake stories about her life

Mumbai: Upset over "fabricated" media stories about her private life, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has threatened legal action against those responsible, a statement issued by her publicist said on Thursday.

"Certain sections of the press have been behaving in a callous manner and have been putting together articles or pieces without any semblance of truth and furthermore they have been attributing quotes to the actor which are baseless and false. Previously our client preferred to remain silent to let better sense prevail be it the news when she was married off to a tree or otherwise. This silence should not be misconstrued as a weakness," the statement read.

The statement was issued to counter an article titled Career more important than family by a website where one of the quotes attributed to the actress read, "If I want to remain in the film industry then I need to stay fit", that implied that she will not have children. The article also stated that her actor-husband Abhishek Bachchan was in agreement with her stand.

"She is one actress who never made any statements that her marriage can wait and she will focus on her career. When she did, she got her family's blessings and got married in the middle of a film and has been a thorough professional even after her wedding," the statement said.

"We must not forget that besides being a star in every right Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is about a daughter, a wife, and a daughter in law, a symbol of our tradition and she has always believed and practiced values that govern our society. Irresponsible statements about her private life will not be left to grow without a strong rebuttal," it added.

The statement also warned of strict legal action against those behind such stories about the 35-year-old.

"This may be read and understood in no uncertain terms that hence forth we would be forced to take legal recourse in any such event of a piece or article appearing without any credibility or which is an absolute fabrication of one's imagination. We must respect Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for her stand to remain silent on such baseless rumors but it would be wrong to use her name to further a personal cause or career," it read.