Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (born Aishwarya Rai, and sometimes known simply as Ash or Gullu- November 1, 1973) is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and gained fame after winning the Miss World title in 1994.
Aishwarya was born in Mangalore to Krishnaraj Rai and Vrinda Rai. She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy and has also co-produced one of Rai’s movies, Dil Ka Rishta (2003). At an early age her parents moved to Mumbai where she attended the Arya Vidya Mandir high school in Santa Cruz. Aishwarya then entered Jai Hind College at Churchgate for one year, and then moved to Ruparel College in Matunga to finish her HSC studies. She did well in school and planned to become an architect and went on pursuing studies in architecture.
She can communicate in several languages, including her mother tongue Tulu, as well as Hindi, English, Marathi and Tamil. She started studying architecture but gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling. While pursuing her studies in architecture, she began modelling on the side. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she won the second place behind Sushmita Sen, and was crowned Miss India World. She went on to win the Miss World title the same year, where she also won the Miss Photogenic award. She abandoned her academic education after winning the pageant and spent one year reigning as Miss World in London. Aishwarya then started working as a professional model and then moved on to her current profession as an actress.
She can communicate in several languages, including her mother tongue Tulu, as well as Hindi, English, Marathi and Tamil. She started studying architecture but gave up her education to pursue a career in modelling. While pursuing her studies in architecture, she began modelling on the side. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she won the second place behind Sushmita Sen, and was crowned Miss India World. She went on to win the Miss World title the same year, where she also won the Miss Photogenic award. She abandoned her academic education after winning the pageant and spent one year reigning as Miss World in London. Aishwarya then started working as a professional model and then moved on to her current profession as an actress.
Aishwarya is married to actor Abhishek Bachchan. After much speculation concerning their relationship, their engagement was announced on 14 January 2007. The announcement was later confirmed by his father Amitabh Bachchan. The couple got married on 20 April 2007 according to traditional Hindu rites of the South Indian Bunt 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. Though the wedding was a private affair intended for the Bachchan and Rai families and friends, the involvement of the media turned it into a national extravaganza. They have been cited as a supercouple in the Indian media. Aishwarya has been very close to her family and lived with them in Bandra, Mumbai until her marriage.
On 16th November 2011 Aishwarya Rai gave birth to a baby girl, The baby girl is the first child for both Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan.
ACTING CAREER
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (born 1 November 1973 in Mangalore) is an Indian actress and former Miss World. Before starting her acting career, she worked as a model and become world famous after winning the Miss World title in 1994. During her career, Aishwarya has acted in over forty movies in Hindi,Tamil, Bengali and English.In 1997, Aishwarya made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil biopic film, Iruvar , for which she received rave reviews for her performance. In that same year Aishwarya made her Bollywood debut in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol which garnered her the Best Female Debutante Award for her performance.
In 1998, Aishwarya starred in S. Shankar’s Tamil film, Jeans, a commercial success which garnered Aishwarya her first best actress Filmfare award (south) for her performance.
1999 Was the year when Aishwarya made her mark in Bollywood. Aishwarya starred in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s super hit Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam which garnered her critical acclaim and many awards for her outstanding performance as Nandani. In the same year she appeared in Subhash Ghai’s Taal, the film was a success among the Indian and International audiences. Aishwarya’s performance and dance in the film garnered her much critical acclaim.
In 2000, Aishwarya appeared in Mansoor Khan’s Josh alongside Shahrukh Khan and Chandrachur Singh, in which she played a Catholic girl. The film was a commercial success and Aishwarya received positive reviews for her performance. Later that year she appeared in Satish Kaushik’s Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai opposite Anil Kapoor. Movie was a success and her performance earned Aishwarya critical acclaim and best actress nominations. Later that year she played a surprise supporting role in Aditya Chopra’s Mohabbatein alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Shahrukh Khan. The film was a major commercial success and became the second-highest grosser of the year. It garnered Aishwarya critical acclaim for her performance and earned her a Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award nomination. Later that year, she starred in the Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain (based on Jane Austen’s Sense and Sensibility )alongside Mammooty, Ajith Kumar and Tabu. The film was a big box office success and Aishwarya received critical acclaim for her spunky portray as Meenakshi (Meenu). To this day the film is loved by Jane Austen fans all over and has helped introduced many international audiences to Indian films.
2002 Was a big year for Aishwarya as she appeared alongside Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas. Aishwarya played the role of Paro (Parvati), the love interest of the protagonist, played by Khan. The film was the official selection at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival. Devdas became the highest-grossing film of the year in both India and overseas. Aishwarya received many nominations and awards for her beautiful performance in the film. The dance sequence between Aishwarya and screen legend Madhuri Dixit went on to become an iconic dance in Indian movies. Devdas is the film that helped Aishwarya gain more attention of an international audience.
In 2003 , Aishwarya starred in Rituparno Ghosh’s National Award winning Bengali film Chokher Bali, an adaptation of Rabindranath Tagore’s novel by the same name. She portrayed the classic character of a young woman called Binodini, the film won her rave reviews and critical acclaim. That same year she also appeared in Rohan Sippy’s Kuch Na Kaho alongside Abhishek Bachchan, the movie was above average at the box office but Aishwarya received good reviews for her acting.
Aishwarya did her first English film in 2004, Gurinder Chadha’s Bollywood-style English adaptation of Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen, Bride and Prejudice alongside Martin Henderson. In the film Aishwarya portrayed the role of Lalita Bakshi, the film’s counterpart of Elizabeth Bennet in Austen’s novel. The film was big success and the western critics loved Aishwarya. This film brought even more attention to Aishwarya in the International arena. That same year Aishwarya also starred in Rajkumar Santoshi’s Khakee alongside Amitabh Bachchan, Akshay Kumar, Ajay Devgan .In the film she played a negative role for the first time in her career and received positive reviews. Later that year Aishwarya appeared in her second film with Rituparno Ghosh, A national award wining Raincoat alongside Ajay Devgan. The film was highly acclaimed by the critics, with Aishwarya receiving rave reviews for her performance, nominations for best actress and Best Actress Critcs award at Zee Cine Award.
In 2005, Aishwarya appeared in Shabd a film based on a love triangle alongside Sanjay Dutt and Zayed Khan. The film did not do well at the box office but Aishwarya got critical acclaim for her performance. Later in the year Aishwarya appeared in Paul Mayeda Berges’s The Mistress of Spices based upon the novel The Mistress of Spices by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni in which she starred alongside Dylan McDermott. That same year she made a special appearance in Shaad Ali’s Bunty Aur Babli in a hugely popular seven-minute dance sequence for the song “Kajra Re”, alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. The song was named Song of the Year and went on to become an iconic song in Indian movies.
In 2006, Aishwarya portrayed the classic character of Umrao Jaan in the J.P Dutta film of the same name. The film did not do well in India but was a success in overseas. Aishwarya’s performance in the film was generally well received by critics and audience. Later that year Aishwarya appeared in Yash Raj Film Dhoom 2. The film turned out to be a blockbuster and became the highest grossing film of the year in India. It was also her first screen appearance opposite Hrithik Roshan making it the start of a popular screen couple. Aishwarya got her a sixth nomination for Filmfare Best Actress Award.
She appeared in Mani Ratnam’s Guru in 2007. The film was both a critical and commercial success. Aishwarya received critical acclaim for her performance and many critics called it her careers best. Aishwarya received many best actress nominations for her terrific performance in the film. In that same year Aishwarya appeared in the English film Provoked where she played the real life character, Kiranjit Ahluwalia, a woman who suffered at the hands of her husband. The film received positive reviews by both western and Indian critics and Aishwarya received applauds for her harrowing performance. Later that year Aishwarya starred in Doug Lefler’s epic Hollywood film The Last Legion alongside Sir Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth and Thomas Sangster. The film wasn’t a box office success but Aishwarya got the chance to play a warrior and display her sword fighting talents.
In 2008, Aishwarya starred alongside Hrithik Roshan in Ashutosh Gowariker’s historical drama Jodhaa Akbar where she played the titte role of Rajput princess Jodhaa. The film was a critical and commercial success and was awarded several Best Film Awards. Aishwarya’s performance in the film was highly praised by the critics and audience. Later in the year she co-starred with husband Abhishek Bachchan and father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan in Ram Gopal Verma’s Sarkar Raj the movie was commercially and critically success. Aishwarya got her glowing reviews for her performance in the film.
In 2009, She appeared in Hollywood film The Pink Panther 2 alongside Hollywood names such as Steve Martin , John Cleese, Lily Tomlin, Andy Garcia and Jeremy Irons. Aishwarya played criminology expert, Sonia Solandres. The movie was a commercial success worldwide and Aishwarya received positive reviews for her performance in the film.
