Gossip Roundup--Dec 11

Priyanka Chopra at Miss World
Priyanka Chopra, a Miss World winner in 2000, has jetted off to Johannesburg, South Africa to serve as a judge for this year's pageant.  The 2009 Miss World Pageant begins December 12.

As an aside, I get that Priyanka is a former winner and that it isn't unusual to have past title-holders come back to judge, but is it possible for maybe one day to go by where Priyanka doesn't try to further peg herself into the "fashionista" slot?  Now not only are all of her roles in the fashionable-fashiony-fashion designer vein, but her real life is too?  Please please expand a bit Priyanka.  Please.

Aishwarya Rai to Star Opposite Ben Kingsley

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been cast opposite Ben Kingsley in the 2011 release "Taj Mahal."  Kingsley, an Academy Award winner for the 1982 hit film Gandhi, in which he portrayed the title character, will play Shah Jahan, the Mughal emperor who ruled Northern India in the 17th century.  Aishwarya naturally has been cast as his wife, the beautiful Mumtaz Mahal, for whom Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal.  (Interestingly, Sir Ben's real-life wife has been cast as the Emperor's first wife, Khandari Begum.) Kingsley's own production team is helming the $30 million project, with shooting scheduled to begin in July. 

Irrfan Khan Too Shy to Dance?

In this installment of "news that makes me love Irrfan Khan even more than I already do," it seems that Irrfan was too shy to film his dance sequence in front of co-star Kangna Ranaut.  He had to ask the director to get her to leave before he could bring himself to pull off the moves.  How sweet!