Aishwarya Rai is as pretty as a flower. In fact, she is beautiful enough to have had a flower named after her. Can you guess what flower it was? Here's a hint: It's native to Holland and has made the country known as a tourist destination.

Still not sure? Well, here is the answer: It's a tulip. Aish had a pink tulip named after her in 2005 on a visit to Amsterdam, Netherlands.

"Herewith I give you the tulip—the symbol of the tourist destination Holland. This tulip represents all the beautiful things of Holland. This tulip will be named after one of the most beautiful women in the world—Aishwarya Rai,"said the Dutch minister of tourism.

Aishwarya Rai isn't the only one to have a flower named after her. It seems to be a trend to name a flower after a celebrity, no doubt to draw people to a city, state, or country.

Kate Middleton and Prince William also had flowers named after them recently, with Kate getting a version of the white rose and Wills getting a sweet pea. Do you think that naming flowers after celebrities is a unique thing? Does it make the celebrity more marketable or does it not affect their brand?

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“It all started when I meddled with my mother’s Chanel and Max Factor accessories,” begins Marvie Ann Beck, no stranger to the art of makeup. The renowned makeup artiste, in Chennai for a workshop, joined us for a tête-a-tête.

For the last 17 years, Marvie has literally ‘been there and done that’ in a profession that’s brimming with top-notch models and actors. “It was not an easy choice to make considering my entire family consists of artists,” she says.

Marvie eventually created a niche for herself and specialised in certain kinds of makeup. “I mastered the art of hi-definition makeup, 3-D makeup and natural makeup. These days, people appreciate the natural look more than heavy makeup,” she elaborates. Marvie has worked with an extensive range of celebrities. From Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to Shahid Kapoor, Sonam Kapoor and Bipasha Basu, the list goes on and on.

She says, “I still remember when Aishwarya Rai was competing in the Miss World pageant, I designed the base for her. She felt it was a shade too dark but after winning the pageant, she came up to me first and said, ‘Yours was the only one I used and it worked the best!’ She’s one of the most down-to-earth people I have ever met.”Marvie admits that among all the celebs, she’s quite fond of Kareena Kapoor.

She says, “I’ve worked with her since she first started coming up in films. Kareena is very sweet and easygoing. Working with her is always a pleasure.”Ask her about the difference in working with actors as opposed to actresses, and Marvie says, “Every face is never the same. Working with an actor is challenging because you have to go low on makeup, you can’t use false eyelashes!”

Having been around in the field for this long, Marvie feels that the technology makes all the difference. She says, “Now, we use makeup to enhance and not hide. Even the minutest of flaws can be seen in front of the camera, and makeup has developed according to these changes.”

Has she even been nervous about working with someone? Marvie reveals, “Every new project causes butterflies in my stomach! It is this nervousness that brings out the best in me!”

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Aishwarya Rai's Beti B went from being India's Most Famous Baby to being India's Most Mysterious. Thanks to an almost pathological desire for privacy by the Bachchans, almost nothing is known about the little one.

But could that all be about to change?

Since Beti B was born two months ago, very little has been said of her by the family. Amitabh firmly refused to entertain the idea of selling photos of the little one, declined to describe her or post any family photos on Twitter (where he's incredibly active and has the largest celebrity following in India), and has joined the rest of the family in obstinately keeping Beti B's name a secret.

But a juicy new rumor dug up by NDTV has Aishwarya Rai's fans wondering if Beti B isn't about to become incredibly well-known. The channel is reporting that Oprah, a recent visitor to the Bachchan home, isn't just doing a short TV episode in India, but rather is shooting for an entire series set in the country. The series would feature extensive interviews with big names in Indian culture, and according to the report, Aishwarya and Abhishek will introduce Beti B to the world on Oprah's show!

Now this sounds almost too good to be true, and very much out of character for the family, so the report should be taken with a very large grain of salt. So far attempts to ascertain the origin of this rumor have come up empty, but check back soon for updates, because if Aishwarya and Beti B are going to appear on an episode of Oprah's show, it would be one of the biggest television events India has ever seen!

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A newly released photo of Aishwarya Rai and Oprah on their way to a party in the talk show host's honor shows the Bollywood star looking positively radiant.

Aishwarya practically glows in the photo, in which she leans toward Oprah and looks straight at the cameras. It almost looks as if the star is posing for the hundreds of photographers who swarmed the car as Aish, Oprah, Amitabh, Abhishek, and Jaya Bachchan left Jalsa en route to a party being thrown by socialite Parmeshwar Godrej.

Aish's makeup is flawless, and she looks much better than she did during the later stages of her pregnancy. The puffiness has gone out of her face, and her eyes are bright. Oprah looks a touch more rattled, flashing a wry look at the camera and not quite managing a smile.

No photos of Aishwarya Rai at the actual event have surfaced yet, so this new snap is the closest view of Aishwarya any of her fans have had since she arrived home after giving birth to Beti B two months ago. She's been quite reclusive since becoming a mother, but she needn't be. She looks fabulous and her fans are eager to see her out and about again!

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Kareena Kapoor - both of them are beautiful and extremely talented actresses. Almost every other actress in Bollywood aspires to gain the fame, love and respect that Aishwarya Rai and Kareena Kapoor enjoy among their fans and the film industry. But what happens when the two are pitted against each other?

When Madhur Bhandarkar and UTV Motion Pictures decided to unceremoniously drop Aishwarya Rai Bachchan for Kareena Kapoor in Heroine, all thought that Bhandarkar would shelve his dream project. The reason given for dropping Aish was that she kept her pregnancy status under wraps, though Aishwarya denied that and argued that she was ready to work in the film post delivery.

Madhur soon approached Kareena Kapoor, who was incidentally his first choice for Heroine. Kareena had earlier refused to accept Heroine as she was reportedly uncomfortable with the script and certain intimate scenes required in the film. The film Heroine draws inspiration from the lives of Hollywood actress Marilyn Monroe and even late Bollywood actress Divya Bharti.

A better Heroine – Bebo or Aish
While Aishwarya Rai can woo the audience with her drop dead gorgeous looks combined with good acting abilities, Kareena Kapoor has the ability to give any actress a run for money by her powerful acting and captivating charm. Aishwarya and Kareena have been pitted against each other for a long time. Whether it is looks, acting or dance...both Aishwarya and Kareena rule the hearts of the audience.

While Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has movies like Guru, Devdas, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Dhoom 2 and Guzarish to her credit, Kareena Kapoor too has delivered performance packed films like Chameli, 3 Idiots, Jab We Met and We Are Family among many others. In fact, all her recent films – Golmaal 3, Bodyguard and Ra.One were blockbusters at the box office. Bebo even has Ek Main Aur Ekk Tu with Imran Khan and Agent Vinod with beau Saif Ali Khan lined up for release this year.

Now the big question is left for the audience to decide when Madhur Bhandarkar's Heroine hits the big screen. Who will be a better Heroine - Aishwarya or Kareena?

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Aishwarya Rai's baby daughter experienced her first Lohri yesterday, and with the passing of the holiday, fans can expect an announcement about her name any time now!

The day after Lohri (a Punjabi winter agricultural holiday which tentatively marks the winter solstice) is Makar Sankranti, which is considered to be the start of a particularly auspicious period in the Hindu calendar. Amitabh Bachchan has hinted that Beti B will be named during this auspicious time.

In fact, a source told DNA India that a name has been chosen and announced to immediate family members. The name was disclosed during the Lohri bonfire celebrations yesterday, meaning the only formality left in the saga of Beti B's naming is to announce the name to the public.

So how will the announcement of Aishwarya Rai's daughter's name come? Easy money is on Twitter. Amitabh will most likely be making the announcement, considering he was the one who took charge of announcing Aishwarya's pregnancy (which was done via Twitter) and has been serving as the official family spokesman on the subject for some time now. So for those fans who are eager to find out what Beti B's real name will be, make sure you're following Amitabh Bachchan!

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Since the day Aishwarya Rai gave birth to her baby girl, grandpa Big B seems to have forgotten the world. In fact Mr Big B is so overwhelmed with Beti B's innocent looks and charm, that his every post on the Twitter includes the little Ash's name.

Following the same, Amitabh Bachchan who was supposed to visit Nashik to inaugurate an old age home, had to postpone the trip for his granddaughter's naming ceremony sometime post January 14, TOI reports. The old age home, Nanasaheb Deshmukh Vridhashram run by Neptune Foundation, is a free facility for elderly citizens.

Amitabh was supposed to visit Nashik at top cop and 'long time associate and very dedicated friend' Harish Baijal's invitation. Baijal told TOI that Bachchan Sr informed him "on Tuesday evening" that the inauguration would have to wait as his daughter Shweta Nanda had come over with her children. Also, "Abhishek and Aishwarya's daughter's naming ceremony would take place soon."

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Oprah Winfrey has officially announced that she will be making her first trip to India and who better to welcome her with a party than Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai and her husband Abhishek Bachchan. "Yes! I am coming to India next month for 1st time as part of Next Chapter," Winfrey tweeted.

The party is yet to be made official but as far as rumors go Rai and her husband will be welcoming the talk-show host to India with a welcome bash, India Today is reporting. According to the Times of India, Winfrey has voiced her desire to meet the Bollywood couple when she visits India this month and Rai expresses the same desire.

"Oprah is coming to shoot for a documentary. She has expressed an interest to meet. It would be wonderful to meet... she has been respectful and loving to both of us," Rai told Times of India reporters on Tuesday.

Winfrey will be making her first visit to the country to shoot a new segment of her show titled: "Oprah: Next Chapter," which will show her travelling around India meeting celebrities and news personalities. Winfrey will also be participating in the Jaipur Literary Festival at the end of January, according to Emirates 24/7.

Winfrey will apparently be shooting for her show at the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. She has been granted permission to shoot on Jan.15, according to the Times of India. "Yes, we have granted permission for a day's shoot at the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort. The shoot will be held on January 19 at both these monuments. We have been shown the script of the show. That's mandatory before granting permissions," said Indudhar Dwivedi, superintendent archeologist of ASI. According to the script, Winfrey will focus on five major Indian cities in her show including, Delhi, Mumbai, Agra, Hrishikesh and Jaipur.

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Talk-show queen Oprah Winfrey is all set to for her maiden visit to India.  And guess who is likely to host a party for Oprah- Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and hubby Abhishek Bachchan.  Announcing her impending visit to the country, Oprah tweeted, "Yes! I am coming to India next month for 1st time as part of Next Chapter."

Oprah's Next Chapter is the next edition of her famous talk show in which she will travel around the world interviewing celebrities, newsmakers and others. Replying to a fan in India, she said, "Too much for a tweet but let's hook up in Jaipur or Mumbai."Oprah tweeted about her India visit last week. "Never been to India, it's been on my vision board forever (sic)."
 
She will be travelling to India to shoot with spiritual guru Deepak Chopra for Next Chapter.  She will also participate in the Jaipur Literary Festival to be held from January 20 to 22.  Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and hubby Abhishek Bachchan are likely to throw an exclusive private party for American chat show queen Oprah Winfrey when she makes a stopover in Mumbai.
 
Sources claim that Oprah is keen to meet Abhishek and Ash's newborn daughter.  En route Jaipur, Oprah will be in Mumbai where the Bachchans are likely to play hosts. But there is no official confirmation from the Bachchans nor did Oprah mention about it in her tweets.
 
It might be a very private affair where the guest list will extremely small.  Aishwarya has appeared on Oprah's show twice. In fact the two seem to be quite fond of each other. Ash first appeared on the show in April 2005, where she gave Oprah a lesson on how to drape a saree.
 
Next time Ash was accompanied by Abhishek in September 2009. Oprah had introduced Abhishek and Asihwarya as the most popular celebrity couple - even more popular than Brad Pitt and Angelina.

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When it comes to refuting rumors surrounding photos or information about Aishwarya Rai's daughter, Amitabh Bachchan usually puts a firm foot down. That's why it was so much fun to read one of his tweets today, where not only does he play on a popular rumor which has been making the rounds, but also manages to convey a hint about when fans might expect to find out Beti B's name!

"T 618 - They say the dates are not auspicious till after the 14th of January .. Inauspiciously Yours, AB," was the message which greeted fans this morning. The cryptic message refers to rumors that the Bachchans are waiting until after the inauspicious Kharwas period ends on January 15th before announcing a name for Aishwarya Rai's nearly two-month-old daughter. That date marks a day known as Makar Sankranti, after which the days become more fortunate.

This seems to be a bit of tacit acknowledgement from Amitabh Bachchan that the rumors are true—that the family is waiting to announce the name out of deference to a bit of religious superstition. According to some (not entirely reliable) sources, the family already has a name picked out, one that both Aishwarya and Abhishek agree on. So why not just announce it? It seems a touch silly to fear that a child's life will be unlucky based upon which day a newspaper prints her name.

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