Ash replaces Beyonce in Pink Panther 2

Thursday, August 09, 2007
Washington (ANI): Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai is set to star with actor Steve Martin in The Pink Panther sequel. Actors Andy Garcia, John Cleese and Alfred Molina have also joined the crew of Columbia Pictures/MGM's The Pink Panther 2.

The Indian actress will star as a detective and expert along with Spiderman 2 villain Molina and Garcia, who join forces with bumbling French police detective Jacques Clouseau, to be played by Martin, to catch the thief who has been stealing artefacts around the world.

Cleese will play Clouseau's superior chief inspector Charles Dreyfus in the pic, Variety magazine reports. Agent Cody Banks director Harald Zwart will be directing the film, which was penned by Scott Neustadter, Mike Weber, Lowell Ganz, Babaloo Mandel and Steve Martin. The film will be produced by Robert Simonds and Ira Shuman will be exec producing.

The sequel, which was announced in March 2006, is scheduled for a release on February 13, 2009.