Arjun shoots with Nicole Kidman

... for an ad film being produced by Sir Ridley Scott and directed by Shekhar Kapur

Bollywood hunks, eat your hearts out. Nicole Kidman, yes — the same, is in India this week and the only desi star who gets to meet the gorgeous Oscar-winning actress and actually work with her is our Arjun Rampal.

Kidman, as reported earlier, is not here to shoot her next film The Eight Wonder in Jaipur, in which she plays a female Indiana Jones on an archaelogical discovery that takes her on a race around the world. Nor is the Australian actress here to meet friends in New Delhi. Kidman has actually come to shoot an ad film for a carbonated water and ginger ale beverage company and Rampal will feature in it with her.

The ad is being made by British producer-director Sir Ridley Scott, whose recent films American Gangster and Body of Lies were huge successes worldwide, and directed by Shekhar Kapur. It will be shot over five days in Udaipur starting today. For a non-filmy Hollywood-Bollywood collaboration featuring one of the world’s highest-paid actors, a local hero, and two celebrated filmmakers, it does not get bigger than this.

Rampal, who was recommended to Ridley Scott’s production house by Shekhar Kapur, is delighted with this sudden assignment that comes in between his work for Bollywood. The Rock On!! actor, who is working on the films Rajniti, Housefull and Kunal, was once a hot and in demand supermodel in Mumbai who did brand endorsements, ad commercials and walked the ramp. But he gave up modelling nine years ago for Bollywood and hasn’t done an ad since then.

“Working with Nicole Kidman is going to be fun,” admitted Rampal who left for Udaipur yesterday. “This is a dream team to work with. I really appreciate Nicole Kidman as an actor, she’s very, very good, and I’m excited to be working with her.” He had no idea whether the sexy actress who was last seen in the film Australia knew that he, too, was an actor. “But she will once she is here,” said Rampal hopefully.