Bollywood's Ash to star in Pink Panther: report

NEW DELHI (Reuters) - Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai is to star alongside Hollywood actor Steve Martin in the upcoming sequel to the 2006 movie "The Pink Panther," a newspaper reported on Friday.

The Hindustan Times said the former Miss World will play a detective in the new film about the clumsy French policeman Inspector Clouseau, played by Martin. The sequel will also star Andy Garcia and John Cleese, it said.

"It is true that Aishwarya has signed the film," Harli Singh, Rai's business manager, was quoted as saying.

Singh said 33-year-old Rai was currently finishing Hindi films "Akbar-Jodha" and "Sarkar 2" and would start shooting for "The Pink Panther 2" from the beginning of September.

Based on the 1964 original starring Peter Sellers, "The Pink Panther" saw singer Beyonce Knowles star opposite Martin.