Aishwarya Rai
Aishwarya Rai (IPA: /Æʃ.vərijə raj/, Kannada: ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯಾ ರೈ, Telugu: ఐష్వర్య రాయ్, Hindi: ऐश्वर्या राय) born on November 1, 1973; Ash to fans and media) is a model and a Bollywood and Hollywood actress, currently one of the highest-paid actresses in India. She is Miss World of 1994, and in 2000 was voted Most Beautiful Miss World of All Time.
Early life
Aishwarya was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her family later relocated to Mumbai. Aishwarya has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older than her. Aditya is a film producer, and has occasionally produced films in which Aishwarya acted. Aditya got married in early 2004.
Aishwarya went to school at Arya Vidya Mandir, Santacruz, Mumbai, and went to college at Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai. Aishwarya was an A student and was on track to become an architect. [1] Aishwarya’s native language is Tulu; she also speaks English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil, Urdu, and Marathi. [2]
Aishwarya began modeling on the side while studying architecture. In the 1994 Miss India contest, Aishwarya placed second behind Sushmita Sen, and went on to win the Miss World title that same year and the Miss Photogenic award. After the one year reign as Miss World in London, she then worked as a professional model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines.
Rise of acting career
The first film Aishwarya acted in was a Tamil movie Iruvar in (1997), directed by Mani Ratnam. Her breakthrough performance came in 1999 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Later standout successes include Taal and Devdas. Besides Hindi language Bollywood films, Aishwarya has also acted in Tamil films such as Jeans and Kandukondain Kandukondain and the Bengali film Chokher Bali, and appeared in a Telugu film Ravoyi Chandamama. Since 2004 Aishwarya has also been appearing in an increasing number of English language films.
In 2002, Aishwarya appeared with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a huge hit. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in the United States, garnering international attention for Aishwarya.
In 2003, Aishwarya 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.” Aishwarya was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 – “The Most Beautiful face in the Bollywood.” 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 Aishwarya is on display in London’s Madame Tussaud’s wax museum. Julia Roberts named Aishwarya the most beautiful woman in the world. [3]
Although frequently the subject of gossip column speculation about an imminent Hollywood career, it was only in 2004 that Aishwarya 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-ized version of Jane Austen’s classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. The movie came just shy of breaking even at the US box office but earned over 400% return on investment in global revenue. Her later movie Mistress of Spices, written by Gurinder Chadha and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges from the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and directed by Berges, was released in the U.K. in April 2006 to a generally poor critical and commercial reception. [4] Aishwarya has several other international, English-language films in the pipeline, including Provoked, The Last Legion, Singularity, and Chaos.
The song “Kajra Re”, which Aishwarya performed in the film Bunty Aur Babli, was voted best song of 2005 and best choreographed song of 2005 in a poll by the Hindustan Times. [5] Aishwarya appeared at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi.
Personal life
Aishwarya has dated three of her Bollywood co-stars: Salman Khan, Vivek Oberoi and Abhishek Bachchan. She is said to have broken up with Bachchan in April 2006.
Aishwarya has been described by others in the Bollywood film industry as having traditional values and being “a paragon of age-old, dutiful Indian femininity”. [6] As a practicing Hindu, she has described herself as having “immense faith in God”, [7] and her favorite temple is reportedly one devoted to Lord Ganesh. [8] When not on the road, Aishwarya lives in Mumbai with her parents.
Awards
Aishwarya has won two Filmfare Awards to date:
* 2000, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
* 2003, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Devdas
She has been nominated four times in the Best Actress category and once in the Best Supporting Actress category at the Filmfare Awards. She has also won three IIFA Awards, three Z-Gold Awards, four Star Screen Awards, an EU’s Global Diversity Award, three Zee Cine Awards and a Rajiv Gandhi Award.
Filmography
Most of Aishwarya’s films are in Hindi, except where noted below.
* Chaos (2007) … (pre-production) (in English)
* The Rebel (2007) (announced) … Rani Laxmibai
* Singularity (2006) (announced) … Tulaja (in English)
* Guru (2006) … (announced)
* Jodha-Akbar (2006) (pre-production) … Jodha Bai
* Dhoom 2 (2006) … (filming)
* The Last Legion (2006) (post-production) … Mira (in English)
* Umrao Jaan (2006) (post-production) … Umrao Jaan
* The Heart of India (2006) … Mumtaz Mahal
* Provoked (2006) … Kiranjit Ahluwalia (in English)
* The Mistress of Spices (2005) … Tilo (in English)
* Bunty Aur Babli (2005) … (“Kajra Re” song) (item number)
* Shabd (2005) … Antara Vashisht
* Bride & Prejudice (2004) … Lalita Bakshi (in English)
* Kyun…! Ho Gaya Na (2004) … Diya Malhotra
* Raincoat (2004) … Neerja/Neeru
* Khakee (2004) … Mahalaxshmi
* Kuch Naa Kaho (2003) … Namrata Shrivastav
* Chokher Bali (2003) … Binodini (in Bengali)
* Dil Ka Rishta (2003) … Tia Sharma
* Shakti: The Power (2002) … (“Ishq Kameena” song) (item number)
* 23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) … Special Appearance (song)
* Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) … Komal Rastogi
* Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) … Special Appearance
* Devdas (2002) … Parvati (‘Paro’)
* Albela (2001) … Sonia
* Mohabbatein (2000) … Megha
* Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke (2000) … Sahiba Gareval
* Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000) … Preeti Virat
* Josh (2000) … Shirley
* Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) … Meenakshi (in Tamil)
* Mela (2000) … Champakali
* Sanam Tere Hain Hum (2000) … Special Appearance (Song)
* Ravoyi Chandamama (1999) … Special Appearance (Song) (in Telugu)
* Taal (1999) … Mansi
* Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) … Nandini
* Aa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) … Pooja Walia
* Jeans (1998) … Madhumitha/Vaishnavi (in Tamil)
* …Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997) … Ashi Kapoor
* Iruvar (1997) … Pushpa/Kalpana (in Tamil)