Aishwarya Rai (born on November 1, 1973; Ash to fans and media
) is a supermodel and an award-winning actress from India. She is currently regarded as one of the biggest names in Bollywood.
EARLY LIFE:
Rai was born in Mangalore to krishnaraj and vrinda Rai, in the South Indian State of Karnataka; her mother tongue is Tulu.
In the 1994 Miss India Contest Rai placed second behind Susmitha Sen and went on to win the Miss World title.
As a professional model, Rai has appeared in many Indian fashion magazines, including the Indian Vogue; more recently she has featured in international ads for L'Oreal, De Beers Diamonds, and Coca-Cola.
BOLLYWOOD BREAKINGTHROUGH
The first film she acted in was the popular Tamil movie Iruvar in (1997), directed by Mani Ratnam. Rai's earliest films made money, but Rai herself did not impress critics-- they commented that her performances were stilted, as if she were stilted, as if she were still modeling.
Her breakthrough came with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Later sucesses include Taal and Devadas. Rai has also acted in other Tamil Films such as Jeans, KanduKondain , and in the Bengali film Chokher Bali.
INTERNATIONAL STARDOM:
Devdas, in which Aishwarya Rai joined Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was a huge hit, Lavishly produced as it was. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.
Rai was becoming an international star rather than simply a Bollywood one. In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at cannes by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." Rai was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005-"The Most Beautiful Woman 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.
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. 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 did well at the box office and Aishwarya's Hollywood profile rose a notch.
Rai is now said to be signed for another Hollywood movie, Rolland Joffe's project Singularity. She will star oppisite Brendan Fraser.
PERSONAL LIFE:
Earlier in her career, Aishwarya was involved in a high profile, allegedly turbulent relationship with Bollywood star Salman Khan. It apparently caused her to be dropped from a Shah Rukh Khan film when Salman's supposedly numerous and rowdy visits disripted filming and Shah Rukh's personal safety.
Since then she has been romantically linked to rising star Vivek Oberoi and film dynasty scion Abhishek Bachchan.
) is a supermodel and an award-winning actress from India. She is currently regarded as one of the biggest names in Bollywood.
