Career
Aishwarya Rai debuted in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil language film, Iruvar with Mohanlal and Tabu. She played a dual role in the film. She was introduced to Bollywood by Rahul Rawail in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya; the film was a poor performer at the box office. However, her third project, a Tamil-language film, Jeans by S. Shankar was a commercial success and she also played the female lead in Rajeev Menon’s Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain with Ajith which was also a success. She then appeared in popular Bollywood films Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Mohabbatein (2000). In 2002, Rai appeared with Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a major box-office success. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival and garnering international attention.
In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine’s Asian Edition as one of Asia’s “100 Most Influential People.” She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 – “The Most Beautiful Face in the World.” A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005, she was featured on Oprah’s “Women Across the Globe” segment. A wax figure of Rai is on display in London’s Madame Tussaud’s wax museum.
In the past, Indian actors and actresses were celebrities in Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, but mostly unknown to the rest of the world. Aishwarya is one of the few Indian actresses to have attempted to step into Western territory. Although frequently the subject of gossip column speculation about an imminent Hollywood career, it was only in 2004 that Rai finally acted in a foreign film, when British director Gurinder Chadha hired her to play the heroine in Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-influenced version of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride and Prejudice.
Her next overseas venture, Mistress of Spices, from the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and directed by Paul Mayeda Berges, was released in the U.K. in April 2006. She played the title role in Umrao Jaan which released on November 3, 2006. The film was a commercial failure but gained her positive reviews for her performance. She played a somewhat negative role in Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit Dhoom, was released on November 24, 2006. Dhoom 2 has been a huge hit all over the globe.
On January 11, 2007, her film Guru, premiered in Toronto. It is rare for a Bollywood film to premiere in North America
Personal life
Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore in the state of Karnataka , India to Krishnaraj and Vrinda Rai. A practicing Hindu, Rai has described herself as having “immense faith in God and my friends”. When at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir, devoted to Ganesha. In the words of Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya is very “domesticated”. She lives in Mumbai with her parents.
Aishwarya began dating Salman Khan, her co-star from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, after the filming of that movie. Their breakup a few years later generated a substantial amount of press attention. Aishwarya said that Salman physically abused her, which she claimed precipitated their parting of ways.
Then gossip columnists started to link her with Bollywood celebrity Abhishek Bachchan, son of the unrivalled, immensely popular Bollywood A-lister Amitabh Bachchan. Abhishek has now become quite successful in his own right and who co-starred with her in several films. She was frequently seen in public with him and his family, fueling rumors of an engagement. Finally, on January 14, 2007, Abhishek and Aishwarya officially announced their engagement.
Controversy erupted over the subsequent ‘marriage’ of Aishwarya with a tree to ward off evil forces and to ensure a safe married life with eventual husband Abhishek
Wedding
The run-up as well as the marriage between Rai and Abhishek Bachchan was heavily covered by the media. Ongoing press coverage was also devoted to the fact that Rai is considered to be a “manglik” Some media reports suggested that Rai underwent a number of rituals before the marriage took place in order to remove her status as a “manglik.” Abhishek’s father, Bollywood superstar Amitabh Bachchan, confirmed these reports. Rai and Bachchan married on 20th April 2007 in a private ceremony. Though being a high profile wedding in India, the venue – Amitabh Bachchan’s home, Prateeksha – was flooded at the gates with thousands of fans and media.
Awards and Nominations
Filmfare Awards
Winner
1998:Filmfare Best Actress Award South for Jeans (film)
1999:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,
2002:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Devdas
Nominated
1999:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Taal
2000:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai
2000:Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Mohabbatein
2004:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Raincoat
2006:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Dhoom 2
She has received six nominations for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards and won twice.In 1999 she received two nominations in the Best Actress category for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Taal and won for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.In 2000 she was nominated in the Best Actress category as well as the Best Supporting Actress category.
Star Screen Awards
Winner
1997:Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer – Female for Aur Pyar Ho Gaya
1999:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2002:Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahrukh Khan for Devdas
2002:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Devdas
Nominated
1998:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Taal
2000:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai
2000:Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress for Mohabbatein
2004:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Raincoat
2006:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Dhoom 2
2006:Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2
International Indian Film Academy Awards
Winner
2000:IIFA Best Actress Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2003:IIFA Best Actress Award for Devdas
2005:IIFA Global Indian Media Personality Award
When the IIFA awards took place in Amsterdam, Aishwarya had a breed of tulip named after her. She is also the first female celebrity to make her mark on the Dubai Studio City Wall of Fame during the IIFA Awards in Dubai
Nominated
2000:IIFA Best Actress Award for Taal
2001:IIFA Best Actress Award for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai
2005:IIFA Best Actress Award for Raincoat
Zee Cine Awards
Winner
2000: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2003: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Devdas
2003: Zee Cine True Indian Beauty Award
2005: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Raincoat
Nominated
2000:Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Taal
2007:Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Umrao Jaan
Z Gold Awards
2000:Zee Gold Best Actress Award in a Sensational Role for Taal
2000:Zee Gold Best Actress Critic’s Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000:Zee Gold Best Actress Award for Taal
Other
2002, Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Field of Entertainment
2004, GR8! Women Award for Contribution to Cinema
2004, Global Foreign Artiste Debutantes to Mainstream Media Award
2004, F Awards-For Excellence in Indian Fashion – Female Celebrity Model of the Year
2005, MTV Immies Best Performance in a Song – Kajra Re
2007: Stardust Star of the Year Award – Female for Dhoom 2
Femina Miss India
1994, Miss Catwalk
1994, Miss Miraculous
1994, Miss Photogenic
1994, Miss Perfect Ten
1994, Miss Popular
1994, Miss India World-1st Runner-up
International Honours
1994, Miss World 1994
2000, Most Beautiful International Titleholder of All Times Gold Medal Winner
2000, Most Beautiful Miss World of All Times-Received the highest score of 9.911
2003, Cover of Time Magazine
2003, Official Cannes Jury Member
2004, Wax London’s prestigious Madame Tussauds Wax museum
2005, British Govt’s Next Step World Diversity Champion Award
Filmography
Year Film Co-Stars Language Role
2008 Untitled Tarun Mansukhani Project Abhishek Bachchan Hindi
2008 Singularity[citation needed] Brendan Fraser English Tulaja
2008 Chaos[citation needed] Meryl Streep English
2008 The Rebel [citation needed] Hindi Rani Laxmibai
2008 Raaste John Abraham, Abhishek Bachchan Hindi
2008 Happy Birthday John Abraham, Shilpa Shetty, Amitabh Bachchan, Paresh Rawal Hindi
2007 Sarkar 2 Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan Hindi Neha
2007 Jodha-Akbar Hrithik Roshan Hindi Jodha Bai
2007 The Heart of India Hindi Mumtaz Mahal
2007 The Last Legion Colin Firth, Ben Kingsley English Mira
2007 Provoked Naveen Andrews, Robbie Coltrane, Nandita Das English Kiranjit Alluwalia
2007 Guru Abhishek Bachchan, Vidya Balan, Madhavan Hindi Sujatha
2006 Dhoom 2 Hrithik Roshan, Abhishek Bachchan, Bipasha Basu, Uday Chopra Hindi Sunehri
2006 Umrao Jaan Shabana Azmi, Sunil Shetty, Abhishek Bachchan Hindi Umrao Jaan
2006 Mistress of Spices Dylan McDermott English Tilo
2005 Bunty Aur Babli Amitabh Bachchan, Abhishek Bachchan Hindi Item number
2005 Shabd Sanjay Dutt, Zayed Khan Hindi Antara Vashist
2004 Bride & Prejudice Martin Henderson, Namrata Shirodkar English Lalita Bakshi
2004 Kyun…! Ho Gaya Na Amitabh Bachchan, Vivek Oberoi Hindi Diya Malhotra
2004 Raincoat Ajay Devgan Hindi Neerja
2004 Khakee Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar Hindi Mahalakshmi
2003 Kuch Naa Kaho Abhishek Bachchan Hindi Namrata Shrivastav
2003 Chokher Bali Prasenjit Chatterjee, Raima Sen Bengali Binodhini
2003 Dil Ka Rishta Arjun Rampal, Isha Koppikar Hindi Tia Sharma
2002 Shakti: The Power Shahrukh Khan, Sanjay Kapoor, Karishma Kapoor Hindi Item number
2002 23rd March 1931: Shaheed Bobby Deol, Sunny Deol, Amrita Singh Hindi Cameo
2002 Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin Amitabh Bachchan, Ajay Devgan, Sanjay Dutt Hindi Komal Rastogi
2002 Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam Shahrukh Khan, Salman Khan, Madhuri Dixit Hindi Cameo
2002 Devdas Shahrukh Khan, Madhuri Dixit Hindi Parvati
2001 Albela Govinda, Namrata Shirodkar Hindi Sonia
2000 Mohabbatein Amitabh Bachchan, Shahrukh Khan, Shamita Shetty Hindi Megha (Cameo)
2000 Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke Abhishek Bachchan Hindi Sahiba Gareval
2000 Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai Anil Kapoor Hindi Preeti Virat
2000 Josh Shahrukh Khan Hindi Shirley
2000 Kandukondain Kandukondain Ajith Kumar, Mammooty, Abbas, Tabu, Dino Morea, Pooja Batra Tamil Meenakshi Bala
2000 Mela Aamir Khan, Twinkle Khanna Hindi Champakali (Special Appearance)
2000 Sanam Tere Hain Hum Hindi Item number
1999 Taal Anil Kapoor, Akshaye Khanna Hindi Mansi
1999 Ravoyi Chandamama Akkineni Nagarjuna, Jagapati Babu Telugu Song sequence.
1999 Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Salman Khan, Ajay Devgan Hindi Nandini
1999 Aa Ab Laut Chalen Akshaye Khanna, Rajesh Khanna Hindi Pooja
1998 Jeans Prashanth, Nassar, Raju Sundaram Tamil Madhumitha/Vaishnavi
1997 Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya Bobby Deol Hindi Ashi Kapoor
1997 Iruvar Mohanlal, Prakash Raj, Tabu, Revathi, Gouthami Tamil Pushpa/Kalpana
{ 1 trackback }
{ 0 comments… add one now }