I was reluctant to take up films because I could not think of giving up my studies. I was doing my architecture course when Mani Ratnam approached me for Bombay, Dharmesh Darshan for Raja Hindustani and Subhash Ghai for Shikhar. I met Shekhar Kapur, who was doing Bandit Queen then and he had told me “Go get your degree but you are coming right here. I have done my CA but I am making movies now!” Yash Chopra used to tease me that I can design my sets when I come back from the pageant but he will make me an actor some day.
Everybody believed I would be here. I did not because nobody in my family or far off family is remotely connected to films.
I took up the Miss World pageant for a lark. I would see girls crying backstage when they were not selected or did not win anything. They were biased about me. They even held a morcha against me because everyone working for the pageant knew me well as a model. I did not know how to handle all this. I felt like an outcast because the participants would ignore me. I had not done anything that I had to be embarrassed about. I was a normal 18-year-old.
Once I won the title, I started thinking on a serious note. I never wanted to be perceived as a pretty thing. I wanted to be someone with more meaning. For me it was not about being on covers of magazines and getting adulation and a fan base. I wasn’t excited over dressing up. I wanted to break the convention that a pretty face can’t act. I was here for the craft as well and have the credibility of an actor.
I didn’t have a conventional launch. I took up Mani Ratnam’s offer for the Tamil film Iruvar not because I was not getting breaks but I wanted to break the myth. I got to play two different roles and the film was not all about me but I still chose to do it. Every director who met me after that told me on the first day that “We don’t want to do something that is Aishwarya Rai” and I would say “What does it mean to be Aishwarya Rai on screen?”
I am not new to criticism. It started with the girls at the pageant, then this preconception that a pretty face cannot emote and when I slowly dispelled all these notions, there was Cannes. Nothing prepared me ever for that kind of backlash. I went to Cannes for the first time as part of the Devdas team. And I was criticised for my choice of clothing at the festival and this continued for years on end. Initially it hurt me. Today I would be lying if I say it does not affect me at all. I am very sensitive like all creative actors are and so it hurts that someone out there is waiting for you to fall.
People who criticize me do not realise that I am not going into my wardrobe and pulling out my dresses. I do not have time to look into my cupboard because I am just running about my work. Professionals who are extremely well-known are dressing me up.
My family has stood by me through all this. They’ve helped me ignore the criticism and keep my focus on my work. My family has always stood by me and asked me to ignore it.
Negativity does hurt you but it hurts me lesser today. I have so much work to do and you work your best so that you are appreciated. We are entertainers and that is what we are here for. I have managed to grow stronger emotionally and truly recognise that there is a lot more positivity, which is much more relevant.
As told to Shama Bhagat

Aishwarya Rai had stepped into filmdom with Tamil film Iruvar. She soon moved on to become one of the biggest names in Bollywood and with number projects in her kitty she never managed to accept all the South Indian offers that came her way.

However she considers this year special to her as she has got two Tamil releases. “After Iruvar I was offered a lot of South films with a lot of actors including Vikram sir. But my schedule didn’t allow me to do any South film apart from Jeans and Kandu Kondein,” she says. “But this year I am doing two films – Raavan and Endhiran (Robot),” she add.

Interestingly both the films are bilingual. While Raavan released this week, Shankar directed Endhiran is aimed towards the later part of the year. 2010 surely is a good year for Ash!

Former Miss World says she became an actress only because she was offered a film with Mani Ratnam.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan desperately needs Ratnam’s magic to deliver her a hit. (SUPPLIED)
Without Mani Ratnam, Bollywood might never have known Aishwarya Rai.

Speaking to media in a global video conference on Friday night, the former Miss World, who was a top model in her teens, said she only became an actress because she was offered a film with Ratnam, one of India’s most respected directors.

“I’d been getting offers for films, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to do movies. I wanted to pursue my architecture studies, but the day I knew it was possible to work with Mani Ratnam, the genius that he is, I decided movies were the way forward,” she told media gathered from India, the United States and the UAE.

Rai made her debut with Ratnam’s Iruvar (The Duo) in 1997. “And I knew working on a film with him would be the perfect school,” she added. “From Iruvar to Raavan, my career has been a wonderful journey so far.”

Two versions of Raavan have been in shot, in Hindi and in Tamil, and the Hindi version will also be dubbed into Telugu, another Indian language. Rai plays Ragini, a classical dancer married to a police offer (Vikram). When the pair are posted to a small town in northern India, they clash with tribal leader Beera (Abhishek Bachchan), who controls the area and abducts Ragini.

The film takes its name from the villain in the Ramayana, a classical Indian epic at whose centre is a battle of good and evil between the Hindu god Rama and the demon king of Lanka, Ravana, who has kidnapped Rama’s wife Sita.

Rai, often referred to as the most beautiful woman in the world, has not been seen on the silver screen in nearly two years – that’s not counting the dismal Pink Panther 2 – and she desperately needs Ratnam’s magic to deliver her a hit.

She heaped praise on the talented auteur during the course of the two-hour event.

“Working with Mani Ratnam whets your appetite and your hunger for more. He’s so demanding and takes so much from you that, creatively, that spoils you. And you just want more,” she said.

While Raavan has been a physically demanding film to shoot, Rai and co-star Vikram faced a particular challenge in shooting two different-language versions back-to-back. “By far the toughest thing was shooting two films in different languages,” she said, talking of how Ratnam and his crew would can a scene for the Hindi version and instantly shoot another one for the Tamil. “We’d get it right and then there’d be a need to do one more – in the same conditions, while the light was holding. That speed was extremely challenging,” she said. “But as a team it’s not about the number of takes or times, it’s about getting that magical moment.”

A happy consequence of that is that Rai is now so confident with her Tamil, she has no qualms about being given final dialogues on the day that scene is being shot. She has so far only worked on a handful of Tamil films.

“Before, I’d panic if I didn’t get the scene the previous day. But with the pace at which we were working on this film, my nerves have gone, now I can jump into the deep end and swim,” she said.

Rai’s next Tamil film, Endhiran (The Robot), which also stars Rajnikanth, is set for a November release. “Now I say, ‘yeah, yeah, bring the scene in the morning, on the set’,” she said. A last-minute delivery of lines is seen as normal in Indian cinema.

Often called the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai arrived on the scene in 1994, when she won the runner’s up title at the Miss India pageant and went on to win the Miss World crown. In 1997, she made her movie debut with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film ‘Iruvar’. Her performance in 1999′s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ earned Aishwarya critical and commercial acclaim. She also met Salman Khan while on one of those typical SLB “pallu-catches-fire” routines, and gave the media some spicy Page 3 fodder.

In 2001, Aishwarya broke up with Salman and, according (only) to Vivek Oberoi, entered an interim orbit with him.

Aishwarya is one of the few Indian actors who have found fame overseas. With films such as ‘Bride and Prejudice’ and ‘Pink Panther 2′, as well as appearances on the Oprah Winfrey and the David Letterman shows, Aishwarya became a well-known face, if not a household name, around the world. Time magazine included her in the world’s 100 most influential people in 2004 and London’s Madame Tussaud’s Wax Museum installed a wax statue of her.

In April, 2007, Aishwarya married beau Abhishek Bachchan in what was supposed to be a private wedding but in fact turned into a national extravaganza! Two and a half years later, they are one of Bollywood’s power couples, appearing in feature films as well television commercials.

When talked about beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is considered to be the synonym of beauty. She is often measured as the most beautiful woman in the world, every move she makes is tinted not just in the Indian media but also draws attention from the world over.

Aishwarya, fondly referred to as Ash was born in Mangalore to Krishnaraj Rai and Vrinda Rai. At an early age her parents moved to Mumbai where she attended the Arya Vidya Mandir school, then entered Jai Hind College and went on to pursue her studies in architecture.

However, following her heart she entered the world of fashion and even went on to win the Miss Wold crown. Later in ’97 she made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil biopic film, Iruvar and then entered Bollywood with her film Aur Pyar Ho Gaya. Following this she featured in the hit film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and beceame a household. Since then there has been no looking back for this beauty.

Today she turns 36, Indiainfo wishes her many many happy returns of the day and wish may her beauty grows with time.

The queen of Bollywood Aishwarya Rai does not have enough time for motherhood. Aishwarya and her husband Abhishek Bachchan recently celebrated their second wedding anniversary.

The two are as happy in the company of each other as they were two years ago.

During the last two years there were innumerable rumours of Aishwarya’s pregnancy as well as the strained relations between the two Bollywood stars, but actually there was no truth in those rumours and speculations.

The two are top Bollywood stars and both have a number of ongoing projects that need their full attention.

Aishwarya rai is involved in several big budget films and probably cannot spare enough time to expand the family.

Despite being around 35 years old she is enjoying a Bollywood career that was not enjoyed by many actresses in India’s Hindi film industry. And her involvement in so many ventures has not allowed her to go for kids.

Her beauty still sets films on fire and ensures the success of the film. Her endorsing a product ensures producers that the company will get better response from consumers. With her father in law and husband she makes the biggest Bollywood brand in the country.

Often acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Iruvar in the year 1997 opposite Mohanlal. She had her first commercial success in the Tamil movie Jeans 1998, and came to the attention of Bollywood through her blockbuster Hindi movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999.

Rajnikant’s mega budget next Endhiran starring him along side Aishwarya Rai seems to have garnered a lot of curiosity as the makers are keeping the production a close guarded secret. But the audience interest about it seems to be multiplying day by day as inside details are being leaked out. We managed to find out one such inside info about Aishwarya Rai’s character in the film.

Our sources reveal, “After having learnt sword fights for her English movie The Last Legion, Aishwarya has been training herself in Karate for Endhiran. A noted stunt master Ramesh who has been running a Japan Shito-Ryu karate school in the South for over 30 years, which is affiliated to the World Karate Federation is training the actress for the movie. Ramesh is teaching Aishwarya the basics of Karate for now. In the movie Aishwarya Rai and the other girls in the film will be learning Karate from her hero. Rajnikant is already trained in Karate so he will not have to train himself. Some interesting scenes were shot recently in the VIT University in Chennai.”

Aishwarya Rai has always been a quick learner. Even during the making of the The Last Legion Aishwary Rai had trained herself in the sword fight. She took her skills forward in Ashutosh Gowarikar’s Jodhaa Akbar. Her trainers have always been enamoured by her quick learning skills. Apparently Ramesh was also charmed that the actress was able to repeat the karate movements easily.

Ramesh has also acted in Mani Rathnam’s Iruvar (1997) which was Aishwarya Rai’s first ever film. He has also acted in over 400 movies made in South India since 1986 with almost all the leading heroes of Tamil, Telugu, Kannada and Malayalam languages.