"Aishwarya is more than a dream girl"

Hema Malini, the original T'town 'dream girl', says Aishwarya Rai is the new dream girl of Bollywood.

"As I have said many times, Aishwarya Rai is a dream girl and a great actress. In fact, she is much more than a dream girl," Hema Malini said in Toronto while talking to the media about her upcoming film 'Tell Me O Khuda' which has her daughter Esha Deol in the lead role.

Meanwhile, the new dream girl Ash, who is pregnant with her first child, took in a movie with hubby Abhishek Bachchan in Mumbai. It was the first joint appearance by the couple after the pregnancy news was announced, and they both looked thrilled. Click here for pictures of parents-to-be Aishwarya and Abhishek at the theatre.

Hema Malini went on to say that the dream girl tag to her was given by people and the media. "They just started calling me a dream girl. That's how it happened. But every girl today is a dream girl...acting itself is about dreams," she said.

Dharmendra, her husband who was at the press conference, too seemed to be mighty pleased when asked about his continuing He-Man image in the Indian entertainment industry.

"Every boy today in a he-man. They are conscious of their health. So they all are he-men. You people gave me this (tag) and I am very thankful for this. It continues because of your support and well wishes," the actor said.

Interestingly, 'Garam Dharam', as he is known, showed flashes of his hot temper as well as spontaneity during the press conference and on the IIFA awards night.

When someone switched off the light while he was being interviewed by a TV journalist, the veteran actor almost lost his temper. "Switch on the light," he snapped.

And when actor Chandan Roy Sanyal was briefing the media about his role in the movie, Dharmendra got up from his chair, took the mike from Sanyal and said, "Yeh badi kuti cheez hai, isne bahut achha kaam kiya hai (He is such a devil who has played a wonderful role)."

At the finale of the three-day IIFA show when Dharmendra was given the award for his 50 years in Bollywood, he touched the 25,000-strong audience with raw spontaneity and went on and on.

As the show was running behind schedule, host Anil Kapoor had to whisper something into Dharmendra's ear. But there was no stopping 'Garam Dharam' that night.

(With inputs from IANS)