Aishwarya Rai ‘may have swine flu’

Aishwarya Rai, one of Bollywood royalty's biggest names, has been fallen ill and there are fears she may have contracted swine flu. The news of Rai's condition was revealed by her father-in-law, the celebrated actor Amitabh Bachchan. "Aishwarya has taken ill and is down with chest infection and flu like symptoms," he wrote on his blog from Singapore. Bachchan, known to filmgoers as 'Big B' added that Rai "had a high fever yesterday but is settling down today."

Though it is thought that Rai is simply suffering from normal influenza, there are rumours that she has gone down with swine flu.

Bachchan revealed that although he was in a different country to Rai he was still worried about his daughter-in-law's health. "It's worrying to be so far away from children and not be there to look after them. Yes, they are mature and married and responsible, but children will always remain children!"

Rai, who first came to fame when she won the Miss World crown in 1994, was once named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine. Her lavish wedding to Amitabh Bachchan's son, Abishek Bachchan was covered on The First Post.

 Reports say that Rai had been filming a movie called Ravaan in the forests of Kerala with her husband before she fell ill. When she has recovered Rai, is being mooted as a potential judge on an Indian reality TV dance contest.
 
Swine flu has so far killed only 24 people in India, a country of 1.3 billion people, where seasonal influenza kills around 50,000 every year. But that hasn't stopped the country from panicking. A front-page headline on the Times of India read 'No stopping swine flu', important religious festivals have been cancelled and some states are advising their residents not to travel to other parts of the country.

Rai's illness is not the only health issue concerning Big B - the actor is in Singapore visiting his politician friend, Amar Singh, one of the leaders of the Samajwadi Party, who had undergone heart surgery there. ·