Bollywood’s Akshaye Khanna has conceded after 18 long years that he couldn’t take his eyes off his co-star and actress Aishwarya Rai, who starred in two films opposite Khanna Jr. Way back in 1999.

Though Aa Ab Laut Chalein and Taal released in the same year, they met contrasting fortunes at the box-office; while the former was an average grosser, the latter was a super-hit film thanks to A.R. Rahman’s lingering melodies. Khanna conceded about his ‘penchant’ for starring at Rai (who was 26 when they shot together) while promoting his latest film Ittefaq at a popular television reality show recently.

Karan Johar, the producer of Ittefaq who hosted the above show, asked Akshaye as to who was the ‘sexiest woman in the industry’ according to him. Pat came the reply from Akshaye who said ‘Aishwarya Rai’ and added that he could hardly take his eyes off her during the shoot of both their films and even after they met occasionally.

“As a celebrity, she might have been used to people staring at her; however, I found it embarrassing that I couldn’t take my eyes off her; she was simply fantabulous!” he said.