It was in June last year, when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had to opt out of a film to be at home. After all, she was pregnant. The actress moved out of the spotlight to take up a role of a very different kind-that of a mother. After almost a year, TOI has found out that mommy Ash is now ready to face the camera onceagain.And though many filmmakers have been vying for her attention, the one script that is likely get her nod of approval is Mani Ratnam's adaptation of Daphne Du Maurier's famous 1938 novel Rebecca.

"Ash and Ratnam go back a long way. Her cinematic debut, Iruvar in 1997 was directed by him. They worked again ten years later in Guru. The same year she got married. They again worked in 2010 in Raavan. Whenever Ratnam has offered Ash a role or a script she has always respected it. This time too, it was the same," an insider told us.

According to the source, the filmmaker is currently busy putting the script together. "Rebecca, the novel is about a newly married woman who is constantly compared to the first wife of her husband by the housekeeper. While she feels belittled by the shadow of the deceased lady of the house, she later realises that her husband was never in love earlier. Ratnam is currently adapting the entire novel into a more contemporary Indian setup," added the source.

Needless to say, Ash will be playing the lead role - Mrs de Winter, the protagonist in Maurier's novel. But that won't keep mummy Ash from her baby B.Though she has started reading scripts, she is trying to spend as much time as possible with her baby.