Aishwarya Rai (Tulu pronunciation [əjɕʋərjaː rəj];
born 1 November 1973), also known as Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, is an Indian film actress and model. She was the first runner-up of the Miss India pageant, and the winner of the Miss World pageant of 1994. She is a leading contemporary actress of Indian cinema and has received two Filmfare Awards, two Screen Awards, and two IIFA Awards for her performances in Hindi language films of Bollywood. Rai is regarded as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India, and is often cited in the media as the "most beautiful woman in the world".
| Born | 1 November 1973 Mangalore, Karnataka, India |
|---|---|
| Residence | Mumbai, Maharashtra, India |
| Occupation | Actress, Model |
| Years active | 1991–present |
| Spouse(s) | Abhishek Bachchan (2007–present) |
| Children | 1 |
| Signature |  |
Rai made her acting debut in the 1997 biographical film Iruvar and starred in the commercially successful 1998 film Jeans. She earned wide public recognition and Best Actress awards at Filmfare for her leading roles in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 1999 melodrama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and the 2002 period film Devdas. She gained critical appreciation for her portrayal of Tagore's heroine Binodini in Rituparno Ghosh's 2003 film Chokher Bali, and a depressed woman in Ghosh's 2004 relationship drama Raincoat. Following a series of commercially unsuccessful films, Rai featured in the 2006 blockbuster adventure film Dhoom 2, the 2008 historical romance Jodhaa Akbar, and the 2010 science fiction film Enthiran. She garnered wide critical acclaim for her work in Bhansali's 2010 romantic dramaGuzaarish.
Following a tumultuous relationship with actor Salman Khan, Rai married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007. Her off-screen roles include duties as a brand ambassador for several charity organisations and campaigns; she is a Goodwill Ambassador for the Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS). She was awarded with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009, and theOrdre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012.
Early life and modeling career
Rai was born into an ethnic Bunt[9] family in Mangalore, Karnataka. Her father, Krishnaraj, was a marine biologist, while her mother, Brindya, is a housewife. She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy. He co-produced one of her movies, Dil Ka Rishta (2003). Rai's values and lifestyle were influenced by her family, and even as her fame continues to rise, she holds strong to a religious, value-based life, influenced early on by her parents.
The family moved to Mumbai, where Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir High School. Rai did her intermediate schooling at Jai Hind College for a year, and then joined DG Ruparel College in Matunga, securing 90 percent in the HSC exams. She trained in classical dance and music for five years during her teens. Her favourite subject was zoology, so she initially considered a career in medicine but was unsuccessful later on. Then with plans to become an architect, she enrolled at Raheja College, but later gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling. In 1991, Rai won a supermodel contest (organised by Ford) and was eventually featured in the American edition ofVogue. After abandoning an idea to pursue a career in medicine, Rai enrolled for a course in architecture at the Raheja College of Arts. However, she dropped out of college to pursue a full-time career as a model.
In 1993, Rai gained public recognition for her appearance in a Pepsi commercial with actor Aamir Khan. In the 1994 Miss India she won second place, behind Sushmita Sen, and was crowned Miss India World. With Sen representing India at the Miss Universe pageant, Aishwarya's duties as the first alternate included representing India in the rival Miss World Pageant, held that year in Sun City, South Africa. She went on to win the Miss World title the same year, where she also won the "Miss Photogenic" award andMiss World Continental Queen of Beauty − Asia & Oceania. After winning the pageant, Rai spoke of her dream for peace for this world, and her desire to be an ambassador of peace during her one-year
Acting career
Rai made her acting debut in 1997 with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar, a semi-biographical political drama,
featuring Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Tabu and Revathi. The film was a critical success and among other awards, won the Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival Rai featured as Pushpavalli and Kalpana – dual roles; the latter was a fictionalised portrayal of politician and former actress Jayalalithaa. Due to Rai's weak Tamil-speaking skills, her dialogue in the film was dubbed by another actor.
That same year, she was cast as Ashi, a naive teenager in her first Bollywood film – Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya, a romantic comedy opposite Bobby Deol. The film was a commercial failure, and reviewers were critical of the film and Rai's acting ability. Rai next appeared in the 1998 big-budget Tamil romantic drama Jeans, directed by S. Shankar and co-starring Prashanth and Nassar. Rai played Madhumita, a young woman who travels to the United States to seek medical attention for her ailing grandmother. A commercial success, the film earned Rai praise for her dancing skills. Unlike in Iruvar,
Rai practiced and dubbed for her own lines in the film. Jeans was later submitted as India's official entry to the Academy Awards for 1998. Her first role in 1999 was in the melodrama Aa Ab Laut Chalen, directed by Rishi Kapoor. The film was a critical failure and had a below average performance at the box office. Rai's portrayal of Pooja Walia, a traditional Indian woman living in the United States, met with negative reviews; Rediff.com published, "Aishwarya Rai sports a plastic smile and never gets a scene where she can portray any depth. All she does is cry and smile and look pretty".
Public recognition and success (1999-2001)
In 1999 Rai starred in the romantic drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, marked a significant turning point in her career. The film, an adaptation of Maitreyi Devi's Bengali novel Na Hanyate, was directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-starred Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. She played the leading role of Nandini, a Gujarati woman who is forced into wedlock (with Devgan's character) despite being in love with another man (played by Khan).
The MovieReport.com praised Rai's performance over her co-actors and noted, "Rai, in a luminous, award-winning performance (largely considered her big dramatic breakthrough--and justifiably so), fills in the conflicted emotional shades that Khan fails to bring with his one-dimensional presence". Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam emerged as a major commercial success and won Rai a Filmfare Award for Best Actress.
Rai next took the leading role of Mansi, an aspiring singer, in Subhash Ghai's musical Taal; alongside Akshaye Khanna, Anil Kapoor, Amrish Puri and Alok Nath. A moderate domestic success, Taalwas notable for being the first Indian film to feature in the top twenty listing at the American box-office. Rai received a second Best Actress nomination that year at the Filmfare Awards ceremony.
In 2000, Rai starred in Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Tamil language adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility. Directed by Rajiv Menon, the film also starred Tabu, Mammooty and Ajith Kumar in prominent roles. Rai was cast as Meenakshi (based on the character of Marianne Dashwood), the younger sister of Tabu's character. The film was a critical and commercial success and earned Rai positive comments from critics; a review carried by The Indian Express summarised, "Attacking her role with just the perfect dollop of innocence, Aishwarya does full justice to her part, and matches up perfectly to Tabu.".
Rai next starred alongside Shahrukh Khan and Chandrachur Singh in the action drama Josh. She portrayed Shirley Dias, the sister of Khan's character who falls in love with his arch enemy's brother (played by Singh). The casting of Rai as Khan's sister was considered an unusual pairing at the time; director Mansoor Khan, however, described it as "perfect". Despite earning mixed reviews from film critics, Josh emerged as a commercial success. Satish Kaushik's social drama Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai was Rai's next release; she played Preeti Virat, a rape victim, in the film.
Co-starring Anil Kapoor and Sonali Bendre, the film was well received by critics and did moderate business at the box office. Film critic Sukanya Verma praised Rai's decision to star in the film and added that she "conveys the turmoil and pain of a rape victim well. But it is her transition from an emotional wreck trying to gather the broken pieces of her life back together that is amazing.". Rai eventually earned a third Best Actress nomination at Filmfare.
Off-screen work
Rai has taken part in several stage shows and world tours since 2001. Her first world tour, a series of concerts called Craze 2001, was performed across the U.S. alongside Anil Kapoor, Aamir Khan, Priety Zinta and Gracy Singh. The show faced early cancellation due to the 11 September 2001 attacks, and the team prepared to return to India as soon as possible. However, the shows continued successfully in Canada. In 2002, she participated in the show From India With Love in the UK, along with Amitabh Bachchan, Aamir Khan, Shahrukh Khan and Priety Zinta.
It took place at two outdoor venues, Manchester's Old Trafford and London's Hyde Park, with over 100,000 spectators. In the summer of 2008, Rai, her husband Abhishek Bachchan, her father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan, and actorsPreity Zinta, Ritesh Deshmukh, and Madhuri Dixit starred in the "Unforgettable World Tour" stage production. The first leg covered the USA, Canada, Trinidad, and London, England. Rai is also involved in the functional and administrative operations of her father-in-law's company, originally known as ABCL, and rechristened as AB Corp. Ltd. That company, along with Wizcraft International Entertainment Pvt. Ltd., developed the Unforgettable production.
Personal life
In 1999, Rai began dating Bollywood actor Salman Khan; their relationship was often reported in the media until the couple separated in 2001. Rai cited "abuse (verbal, physical and emotional), infidelity and indignity" on the part of Khan as reasons for ending the relationship. In a 2009 Times of India article, Khan denied ever beating her: "It's not true that I hit a woman."
Though they both appeared in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (in which her then longtime boyfriend, Salman Khan, made a brief cameo) and Kuch Naa Kaho, Bachchan fell in love with Aishwarya whilst filming for Dhoom 2. Their engagement was announced on 14 January 2007 and later confirmed by his father, Amitabh Bachchan. The couple married on 20 April 2007 according to traditional Hindu rites of theBunt community, to which she belongs. Token North Indian and Bengali ceremonies were also performed. The wedding took place in a private ceremony at the Bachchan residence, "Prateeksha", in Juhu, Mumbai. They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media. Rai is very close to her family and lived with them in Bandra, Mumbai, until her marriage. Rai is Hinduand deeply religious. Her international presence shot up when she accompanied Abhishek Bachchan to the Cannes Film festivalshortly after their marriage, and later to The Oprah Winfrey Show, appearing on 28 September 2009. They were described as more famous couple than Brangelina. They have been described as a supercouple in the Indian media.
Rai gave birth to a baby girl on 16 November 2011. Her daughter became popularly known by the name of "Beti B," a name attributed to her by fans and the media, since the couple took over four months to name their daughter. The baby girl was finally named Aaradhya Bachchan in March 2012.
In the media
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has become one of the most admired and revered women in India, and in the world. Mass media has described her as dignified, statuesque, beautiful and charismatic person. Despite constant media speculation,
she has always managed to keep her personal life well-guarded. Her beauty and performances have made her as a style icon for young women.] Over 17,000 websites dedicated to her, she was selected by Verve Magazine in its list of the country's most powerful women. In 2001 Forbes named Rai among the top five Indian movie stars. In a reader poll conducted by UK's Hello! magazine, she was voted "the most attractive woman of 2003". In the same year, Rai appeared in Rolling Stone magazine's annual "Hot List". In 2004 she was chosen by TIME magazine as one of the world's most influential people, and appeared on the cover of its 2003 Asia edition.
Awards and honours
Aishwarya Rai is a two-time winner of the Filmfare Best Actress Award, and has been nominated for Filmfare Awards eleven times.] She won Most Glamorous Star of the Year which is shared with Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2 in 2007 She won the Outstanding Achievement in International Cinema at Awards of the International Indian Film Academy in 2009,. She has won numerous times at the International Indian Film Academy Awards, Star Screen Awards, Zee Cine Awards, and others. In 2009 Rai was awarded the Padma Shri, the fourth-highest Indian civilian award, for her contributions to Indian cinema. Later that year she was declared the Female Star of The Decade at the tenth International Indian Film Academy Awards, held in Macau. In December 2010 she was declared the "Actress of the Decade" at the BIG Star Entertainment Awards. In March 2011 Rai was honoured byKarnataka Chief Minister B. S. Yeddyurappa at World Kannada Meet (Vishwa Kannada Sammelana) for her contributions to the arts.Later that month she was presented with the "Decade of Global Achievement Honour" by FICCI. In 2012, she finally accepted the second-highest Order Of France, Ordre des Arts et des Lettres. Earlier she refused it because her father was suffering from a serious illness, and she wanted her whole family to attend the award ceremony. She is the fourth Indian actor—after Sivaji Ganesan, Nandita Das, and Shahrukh Khan—to be chosen for the award.
Selected filmography
| Year | Title | Language | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1999 | Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam | Hindi | Nandini | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 1999 | Taal | Hindi | Mansi | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2002 | Devdas | Hindi | Parvati (Paro) | Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2003 | Chokher Bali | Bengali | Binodini | |
| 2004 | Raincoat | Hindi | Neeru | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2004 | Bride & Prejudice | English | Lalita Bakshi | Dubbed into Hindi as Balle Balle Amritsar to LA |
| 2006 | Dhoom 2 | Hindi | Sunehri | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2008 | Jodhaa Akbar | Hindi | Jodhaa Bai | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
| 2010 | Enthiran | Tamil | Sana | |
| 2010 | Guzaarish | Hindi/English | Sofia D'Souza | Nominated—Filmfare Award for Best Actress |
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