Mumbai: It isn’t very clear who stands to gain by spreading this rumour. But the information about a midair patch-up between Aishwarya Rai and Rani Mukherjee is pure bunkum. According to someone who flew on the flight, this is what happened: “Ash was with her mom while Rani was with Karan Johar. It was Karan’s idea that Rani say hello to Ash and break the ice.” For those who came in late, Ash and Rani were the best of friends...until the latter nimbly stepped into Ash’s role opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Aziz Mirza’s ‘Chalte Chalte’ after Salman Khan disrupted the first schedule of the film and Ash was asked to pack up.

What really hurt Aishwarya was that Rani didn’t even bother to ask if it was okay... unlike Preity Zinta who rang up Ash when she, Preity, was finalised for ‘Veer-Zaara.’

Prior to this incident, Rani treated Aishwarya like an elder sister. Ash would in turn even give Rani makeup tips. Cut to the mid-air flight where Rani, egged on by Karan, walked over to Ash who was fast asleep. Tapping her awake, Rani said, “Hello...sleeping?” Ash said she was... end of the conversation. Back to square one. — HNS