Rani in a Sabya sari for the Ashtami puja in Mumbai

Which man do arch-rivals Ash and Rani love to flaunt? Not Abhishek Bachchan, but Sabyasachi Mukherjee!

If Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wore a Sabya sari (and husband Abhishek) at the Oprah Winfrey show shot in Chicago and telecast in the US on Monday, Rani Mukerji wore a Sabya sari for her family’s Ashtami puja in Mumbai.

Both were signature Sabyasachi Mukherjee. While Aishwarya wore a “three-panel khadi and cotton-net sari with embroidered paisleys”, Rani settled for a simple red and white combo, in true Ashtami tradition.

“This is a gift from my friend Sabyasachi,” she had preened in front of a STAR Ananda camera, days after telling Metro in Calcutta: “Sabyasachi has sent me saris to wear during the festival days. I just have to get the blouses stitched (to the new Dil Bole Hadippa! size)!”

But the creator in south Calcutta was clueless about the Ashtami look of the leading lady he has styled in Black and Baabul, and was “pleasantly surprised” when she called him and broke the news on Sunday evening.

Ash on Oprah in a Sabya sari (above); on the show in 2005 in a pantsuit

With the other Bollywood queen, the star fashion designer was in the know every step of the way. “Ash’s office rang one of my assistants a day before they were leaving to shoot The Oprah Winfrey Show. I was in Mumbai for an exhibition and we mutually agreed upon an Indian look. I sent two outfits — the sari and a kalidaar kurta. The next day I went for a session of fittings,” recalled Sabyasachi.

For the Oprah show, there was more from Sabya on Ash than just the sari. “She also wore a pair of coral earrings and a coral ring from my jewellery collection.”

Ash’s first Oprah appearance back in 2005 was in a black pantsuit but she did declare that she “loved” the sari — and referred to it as a “long piece of fabric” while draping an ombre number on Oprah on the show.

Sabyasachi’s first brush with Ash came three years ago for a jewellery campaign. He is now styling her in Mani Ratnam’s Raavan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Guzarish.

When it comes to Bollywood’s biggest femme rivals, the city’s designer number one is the highest common factor.