The humour is intact and Aishwarya Rai is very much back in action after injuring herself while rehearsing for the film 'Guru'.

'The saga isn't exactly the way it's made out to be,' Ash says and laughs a little feebly about the accident that occurred Friday in Badami in Karnataka.

'But since I was filming in Badami where communication is low, the injury did become an event,' Ash told IANS.

She narrates what happened. 'It was after pack-up, and I was still in my ghagra-choli costume. I was riding around on a vintage wobbly bicycle in the hotel's uneven grounds for practice. I guess I was doing a bend when I encountered an unfriendly khadda (pothole), which was looking for action. I braked. But not in time.

'It all happened in seconds. Before I could get off, the cycle tipped over to the right and fell. In the process my right hand got injured. I guess it was an accident waiting to happen. It took the hotel guys forever to extricate me. The metal protrusion was like a knife. It made three deep gashes in my finger.'

She laughs. 'You know me. I didn't make much of it. But people around told me to stop. And told me to go to my room. The fingers bled a lot. And the visual was bloody. Hence the gory saga in parts of the media, I guess.'

Ash gives the locals full marks for hospitality.

'Such sweet people, eager to help, both the civilians and docs made me forget my pain. But you've to give me credit for being brave. I had to take a tetanus shot and the wounds have to be dressed. They (the wounds) are now a character in 'Guru'.'

This is Aishwarya's second injury and a far less serious one. She had been badly injured on the sets of Raj Kumar Santoshi's 'Khakee' two years ago.

'I guess someone somewhere really likes me. I'm back to work. It's the love, care and concern of the people that did the healing so fast. It was overwhelming. I want to thank all my well wishers.'