Biography of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Rai was born in Bangalore, Karnataka as the daughter of Krishnaraj Rai, a marine biologist, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her family belongs to the Bunt community of Mangalore. She has one elder brother, Aditya Rai, who is an engineer in the merchant navy and also co-produced one of Rai's movie, Dil Ka Rishta (2003).

After she was born, her parents moved to Mumbai (Bombay) where she attended the Arya Vidya Mandir high school in Santacruz. Rai 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. She speaks Hindi, English, Kannada, Marathi, and Tamil besides he mother tongue, Tulu.

While pursuing her studies in architecture, Rai began modeling on the side. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she won the second place (behind Sushmita Sen), and went on to win the Miss World title the same year where she also won the Miss Photogenic award. She abandoned her studies after winning the pageant and spent one year reigning as Miss World in London. Rai then started working as a professional model and then moved on to her current profession as an actress.

Rai is married to Indian actor Abhishek Bachchan, who is the son of Amitabh Bachchan and Jaya Bachchan. The marriage took place on April 20, 2007.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Career

Making her debut with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film, Iruvar (1997) with Mohanlal,[1] she was introduced to Bollywood in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol, which also released that year; the film didn't do well at the box office.[2] However, her third project, S. Shankar's Tamil film, Jeans (1998) was a critical and commercial success, earning her the Filmfare Best Actress Award South.
She went on to appear in many Bollywood films; a few successful films of her career include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999), which earned the actress her first Filmfare Best Actress Award and Taal (1999), which gave her another nomination for Best Actress at the Filmfare; her performances in both the films were lauded.[3] In 2000, she played a supporting role in the hit films Mohabbatein and Josh. Later that year, she also starred in the Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain, which won her positive reviews.
In 2002, Rai appeared with superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in Sanjay Leela Bansali's lavishly produced Devdas. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.[4] It was during this time that she garnered the attention of the West as an Indian actress and went on to appear in a few Hollywood projects. Devdas went on to become the highest grossing film of the year both in India[5] and overseas,[6] earning her the actress her second Filmfare Best Actress Award.
As her name gained popularity overseas, she was chosen by Time magazine in 2004 as one of the World's "100 Most Influential People", and appeared on the cover of Time magazine, Asia Edition (TIMEasia) in 2003. She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2. A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. She also featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment. In 2003, she acted in the critically acclaimed and commercial success Bengali film, Chokher Bali, an adaptation of one of Rabindranath Tagore's novels by the same name.
Rai has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival since 2002, and was a member of the Jury at Cannes in the year 2003. In October 2004, a wax figure of Rai became on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum.[7] The same month, her first foreign film, Bride and Prejudice released. The film was an Indian version of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. Her next overseas venture was The Mistress of Spices. She then appeared at the closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian art, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi. In between her overseas acting stints, she appeared in the Indian film Bunty Aur Babli in a hugely popular seven minute dance sequence for the song "Kajra Re".
In 2005, Rai signed a three-year contract with L'Oréal, as a spokesmodel for the cosmetics company.
At the end of the year 2006, she had two releases: Umrao Jaan and Dhoom 2. The former did poorly in India but her role in the latter, which was a sequel to the 2004 hit movie Dhoom brought her great attention. While it was a hit commercially,[8] it also sparked a controversy for a scene containing a kiss between her and Hrithik Roshan, which made audiences uncomfortable; a court case is currently pending in India.[9]
2007 saw the release of Mani Ratnam's Guru which premiered in Toronto. The film, based on the life of Indian businessman Dhirubhai Ambani, was critically acclaimed and did well at the box offic.[10] Her most recent film, Provoked, based on the book "Circle of Light" where she portrays a real life character, was released on April 6, 2007 in India and the UK. At the end of April 2007, her first American film, The Last Legion released in Russia and the Netherlands and later opened in North American theaters in August 2007 disappointingly.

Aishwarya to play Rebecca Mark in Sarkar Raj?

If sources are to be believed Aishwarya Rai's role in RGV's forthcoming film Sarkar Raj is based on the character of Rebecca Mark. Highly inspired by Rebecca's character director Ram Gopal Verma has shaped Aishwarya's role accordingly. It is reported that the film is a sequel to Amitabh-Abhishek starrer, Sarkar and deals with the conflict of emotions between Amitabh and Abhishek. The film will have three Bachchan's together once again after the famous Kajra Re song. Aishwarya who plays one of the important characters in the film, will be seen for the first time together with hubby Abhishek post their marriage. Sources inform us that Aishwarya plays a contemporary business woman in the film. However her character is quite similar to Rebecca Mark-Jusbasche head of the Enron International division of Enron. The woman is not only remembered for her business acumen, but her looks, clothes, and legs. And Ash's role will be on similar lines. Ram Gopal Varma has postponed the release of Sarkar Raj from mid-December to next year following the cold response to his last three releases. He is desperately waiting for a hit. Our source adds " Sarkar Raj has shaped up well and RGV has a lot of expectations from this film. He plans to release it in March next year but the Bachchans are not too happy with the release time as it would be exam period and that could adversely affect the film. But the entire unit of this film is going to go all out with the promotions."

LOVE ACTUALLY

IT has been a while since she walked the ramp, but when Aishwarya Rai Bachchan stepped on to the catwalk, mesmerising in a turquoise blue mermaid lehenga designed by Tarun Tahiliani, to promote the wedding collection of luxury watch label Longines, it was yesterday once more.
“The moment I stepped on to the ramp, I realised that it had indeed been a long time. But to be dressed up like a bride brought in a sense of deja vu,” she lets on a couple of hours later, now in a short printed dress, still pretty despite the few extra pounds.
Predictably, she waxes eloquent on love, marriage and affairs of the heart.
“Marriage is such an intense emotion. It is a beautiful chapter in life. I recommend it to everybody,” she beams. Just back from the shooting of Pink Panther, she is now gearing up for a hectic schedule. There are the promotional visits for Jodhaa Akbar to be followed by the release of the movie next month.
“I’m a person who believes in intense prioritisation and enjoying every bit of what comes by. I am happy being a married woman and that’s my priority at the moment. You cannot imagine how much planning goes into making time for all of my commitments. I’m not taking on anything more than I can chew,” she said.


Family, in fact, seemed to be the focus of Ash’s attention. “I consider myself blessed to be so loved. It just doesn’t seem like I have been married for six months, I still feel so excited over every little thing. In fact, I made sure that my shooting schedule for Pink Panther ended before karva chauth because I didn’t want to miss my first one,” she goes on.
She is also unfazed by the tax enquiries into her wedding expenses. “There are often undue judgements and misconceptions and you have to deal with it in the best way possible. We have faced quite a few instances but the father of our family took time to quell them,” she shrugs, before becoming cheerful again.
“All along I thought my life couldn’t get better than what it was, but it actually is getting better every day. There is so much love all around. I can literally feel what it is to be on the pedestal after my marriage to Abhishek. I am a happy girl. I could not have asked for anything more,” she said.
Well, what if she sounds like a Sooraj Barjatiya movie, we would say amen to it.
Trendy Ash
A day after promoting the wedding collection of Longines in Delhi, Aishwarya launched the sports collection of the luxury watch in Mumbai. Aishwarya landed on the Royal western indiaTurf Club in a helicopter and after reminiscing about her long association with the venue, launched the sports watch. A Longines horse race was held, the winner of which won himself a Longines besides the prize money. The actress took the opportunity to announce that the money from the sale of her bridal outfit that was designed by Tarun Tahiliani for the Longines wedding collection would be donated to the HIV affected children of Ashray.

Aishwarya in de-glam role opposite John

The myth that Aishwarya Rai will only work with her husband Abhishek Bachchan, ends with her signing a movie opposite John Abraham.
Despite the dilly-dallying, Aishwarya is finally doing Sriram Raghavan's love story about an ordinary man in an extraordinary situation.
After Jodhaa Akbar and Sarkar Raj, Ash will be seen in a realistic mould. Raghavan says, “Aishwarya has given dates from January as she has some endorsements to take care of this month. I've got John's dates till February. I hope to complete 70 to 80 per cent of the film.”
The director admits there's more shooting to be done with John. “It wasn't an easy script to write. Aishwarya and John were my first and last choices.”
Sounding like his ex-boss Ram Gopal Varma protégé, Raghavan sighs, “It's a very true-to-life story, with a touch of incredulity. The challenge is to make two very glamourous stars look real.”
In the meanwhile, Shriram's next project Agent Vinod for Saif's production house is also a hero-oriented tale. He laughs, “One of these days I'll write a women-oriented movie like Erin Brockovich or Thelma & Louise.”

The character of Aishwarya Rai in 'Sarkar Raj'

The film will have three Bachchans together once again after the famous Kajra Re song. Ash who plays one of the important characters in the film, will be seen for the first time together with hubby Abhishek post their marriage.Reports are that Ash plays a contemporary business woman in the film directed by Ram Gopal Varma and her character is quite similar to Rebecca Mark-Jusbasche head of the Enron International division of Enron. The woman is not only remembered for her business acumen, but her looks, clothes, and legs.Varma has reportedly postponed the release of ‘Sarkar Raj’ from mid-December to next year following the cold response to his last three releases and is desperately waiting for a hit.Varma has a lot of expectations from the film and he plans to release it in March next year but the Bachchans are not too happy with the release time as it would be exam period and that could adversely affect the film.But the entire unit of the film is going to go all out with the promotions.

Aishwarya's eyes are very expressive

Filmmaker Jagmohan Mundhra's Provoked, based on the true story of UK-based Kiranjit Ahluwalia, who killed her husband after she was tortured and was sentence to life imprisonment is releasing in India on April 6.
Here to promote the film along with Ahluwalia, Mundhra spoke to HT City. The film stars Aishwarya Rai playing Kiranjit, Miranda Richardson, Naveen Andrews, Rebecca Pidgeon, Nandita Das and others.
“She has done a fabulous job. In fact, everybody asked me why Ash? The problem is that most people do not see beyond her pretty face. That is a boon for her but at times, it is a curse. She is beautiful but the point is that after working for 11 years she is also quite talented.”
“She never questioned my vision and I felt that her eyes are so expressive — they can communicate fear, triumph, love, betrayal and every human emotion needed in this film. Ash also wanted to get out of this image. I told her that ten minutes into the film and the audience should forget they were watching Aishwarya. She was completely okay with that. As a director I did not want to make things superficial for her. I really hope Provoked does to Ash what Kamla and Bawandar did to Deepti Naval and Nandita Das respectively.”

The Bachchans and Rais watch Saawariya

On Saturday night, Aishwarya’s parents came together with the Bachchan family, minus Jaya, for a very special screening of Saawariya at Yashraj Films. Jaya was unable to attend as she was unwell.Director Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Sonam Kapoor were present for the occasion. But the film's leading man Ranbir Kapoor would have missed the chance to watch the film with the Bachchans because he was at work. As luck would have it he was shooting in the same vicinity for Yashraj Films's next. Ranbir rushed to the screening just before it began. Mr Bachchan who earlier during the evening attended the Indian Television Academy awards arrived on the dot, as usual. While Abhishek and Aishwarya sat in one corner the film's nervous director Sanjay Bhansali could be seen huddled nervously with the Big B who couldn't take his eyes off the screen. Mr Bachchan the next morning sent chocolates and a beautifully-worded letter to both Ranbir and Sonam. "It's the most beautiful gift I've received in my life," gushes Sonam "It's hard to believe the praise that Bachchan Saab has lavished on me. I don't deserve it," Ranbir gets emotional.