Aishwarya Rai is slimmer than me, so Mani Ratnam preferred her to me for Ponniyin Selvan, says Tamil actress

Have you ever wondered why Mani Ratnam's first choice to play female leads in most of his movies since late 90s have been Aishwarya Rai Bachchan? Not that she is beautiful nor for the fact that she possess special talent, but her size which has made the filmmaker prefer her to others. Well, we are not saying it, but it is according to veteran actress Radikaa Sarathkumar.

Before you take it very seriously, let us tell you that Radikaa Sarathkumar made such a comment purely on a lighter note. At the audio launch function of Mani Ratnam-produced Vaanam Kottattum, the veteran actress, who has played an important role in the film, spoke about the struggle he had when he had cast her in a role in his earlier project.

"He cast me in the role of Bharatanatyam dancer in his second film. Only we know how much struggles we had (laughs)," Radikaa Sarathkumar said, indicating the director had difficulties in bringing out the desired result from her. She continues, "He cried at some point. He is crying even today. I had asked him 'why did you cast me in that role'. His response will be in two words – 'it's okay.'"

"After that experience, Mani Ratnam imagines me as his heroine for his every film, but as Aishwarya Rai is thinner than me, he is casting her in his films. Even for Ponniyin Selvan I told him that I will be better off (than Aish), he said 'it's two inches here and there.'" Radhika says as she tries hard to control her laughter.

Radikaa Sarathkumar is working in an important role in Radikaa Sarathkumar, which has Vikram Prabhu, Madonna Sebastian and AIshwarya Rajesh in the leads. Apart from producing the film, Mani Ratnam has co-written the film, directed by Dhana Sekaran.

On the other hand, Mani Ratnam is busy with his directorial film Ponniyin Selvan, which has Karthi, Jayam Ravi, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Trisha Krishnan and many others.