A brief look at Aishwarya Rai's fantastic journey

Aishwarya Rai through the years under the arch light. (Agencies)

Published Thursday, November 01, 2012

By Ajanta Paul

The world bowed before Aishwarya Rai when she won the Miss World title in 1994.

She was a sweetheart in the ad world and the camera lenses loved that face and the glistening eyes from the very beginning. So after winning Miss India, Miss World was on the anvil.

Stylists, designers and photographers who’ve worked closely with the ethereal beauty, couldn't take their eyes off her.

The next obvious choice after Miss World was movies and directors jumped in to introduce her. Shaky it might have been at the beginning but her career sailed through the strom.

Now her star celebrity status is beyond imagination even after being away from the big screen for a while now.

In her 15-year Bollywood career, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has given the industry some of its most celebrated films. Shutting up critics who said ‘models can’t act’, Ash, a former model and Miss World, gave some memorable films like 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' (1999), 'Taal' (1999), 'Devdas' (2002), 'Dhoom 2' (2006) and 'Jodha Akbar' (2008).

This fetched her awards and honours not just in India but internationally.

Rai made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil biopic film 'Iruva'r (1997). The film was a critical success and won many awards.

She was not regarded highly as an actress. But then came Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam', opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgn. Besides looking beautiful, Rai's portrayal won her critical acclaim.

Rai excelled in 'Taal' and enhanced her reputation as an actress while in no way detracting from her image as a show-stopper.

'Devdas' was the high point of her movie career. The film received a special screening at the 2002 Cannes Film Festival, and was selected by Time Magazine's in its list of 10 best films of the millennium". It became the highest-grossing film of the year in India and overseas. Devdas won numerous awards, including 10 Filmfare Awards, and Ash playing the love interest of the protagonist won her second Filmfare award.

Her career was not limited to India and she crossed landscapes to touch down Hollywood hills.

In 2004 she appeared alongside Martin Henderson in 'Bride and Prejudice'. Her next overseas release was Paul Mayeda Berges's 'The Mistress of Spices' in 2005. In the 2007 Ash portrayal as a victim of domestic violence in 'Provoked' was received positively.

Next 'The Last Legion' was a critical failure. Her character in 'The Pink Panther 2' had grey shades.

Her tryst with the Cannes Film Festival began in 2003 when she became the first Indian actress to be a jury member. More than anything else in Cannes Ash received unflattering compliments for her fashion blunders. Everything took a backseat and her fashion became the main focus since the last 11 years.

Aishwarya is not just about beauty but she is the face of many brands and social causes. Ash is Longines Ambassador of Elegance.

In 2003 she became a global brand ambassador of L'Oréal. Rai is the brand ambassador for The Eye Bank Association of India's nationwide campaign to promote eye donation in India. In 2005 she became a brand ambassador for Pulse Polio, a campaign established by the Government of India in 1994 to eradicate polio in India.

In September 2012, Rai was appointed as the new international Goodwill Ambassador for UNAIDS, the joint United Nations programme on AIDS and HIV.

Salman Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Vivek Oberoi

In 1999, Ash began dating Bollywood actor Salman Khan. Their relationship is and was the most talked about affair until the couple had a bitter separation in 2001. She then dated actor Vivek Oberoi.

Aishwarya married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007 in a grand ceremony and the two have been termed as 'super couple'.

Her father-in-law actor Amitabh Bachchan announced her pregnancy on social networking site. It may be nasty but worth mentioning that her pregnancy and the birth of her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan got her more publicity than any of her movies.

Post pregnancy, her weight gain became a national issue discussed in every possible medium.

But the new mommy remained unfazed and attended the 2012 Cannes Film Festival when the media battered her for being overweight and not checking on her flabs despite being an international personality.

Fat or not, Ash gracefully posed for the cameras, almost daring. She retorted back to her detractors saying she enjoys every moment of her motherhood.

She recently confessed reading scripts and as she represented a watch brand recently it was evident Ash shed those extra flabs. She has laid the ground work for her comeback, appearing at events more often and representing brands she endorses.

Now fans await the imminent return of the mommy.

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