By Subhash K Jha

On Jan 1 Vidya Balan turned a year older.

"It's good to have your birthday on 1 Jan. No one can claim to forget the date," Vidya laughs. "Not that I intended to have a big party or anything. My birthday started as usual at midnight with pooja at home. The day was spent with family and friends. Why should that change?"

Vidya is content with 2006. "After Parineeta I needed to consolidate my position. Lage Raho...Munnabhai did that for me. Hopefully 2007 will start for me on an auspicious note when Salaam-e-Ishq and Eklavya release."

Vidya has been shooting hard. Now it's time for her to shoot down rumours about a rift with Aishwarya Rai during the making of Mani Rathnam's Guru.. "By now I've gotten used to all kinds of link-ups and rumours. But this one truly takes the cake.

I can't say we got along like a house on fire simply because we didn't have that many scenes together. But whenever we worked together Aishwarya was a dream co-star...an absolute delight, and someone I look up to. To even suggest that she had my role cut is so ridiculous.

I was aware of the extent of my role from the start. I did Guru for the pleasure of working with Mani. There're moments in the film where Aishwarya needed to reach out to me emotionally. She did it so naturally and spontaneously she won me over."

A story doing the rounds suggests that Vidya didn't attend the Candian premiere of Guru because of Ms Rai.

Vidya's melodious giggle fills the air. "This is too much. I wonder who's spreading such nonsense, and for what purpose! I was in Australia shooting for Sajid Khan's Hey Baby on 10 Jan. The premiere of Guru was in Canada on the 12th.

There was no way I could reach there and get back to my shooting without disrupting Sajid's schedule. I wouldn't do this to anyone, least of all Sajid Khan who's a first-time director and a dear friend."

She takes a deep breath and ends, "I hope this puts to rest all these silly speculations about Aishwarya's role in my life. She's way above all this petty politics. Her dignity in the face of adversity is exemplary. If I can possess even a fraction of her poise I'd consider myself lucky."