Katrina Kaif may be the cream of the season what with her item song ‘Sheila Ki Jawani’ being played in every discotheque but if we talk of the numero uno actress then the Barbie Doll of Bollywood has still a lot of catching to do to match with the mantle of Aishwarya Rai.
In an online survey, former Miss World Aishwarya Rai has been voted as the Best Actress of 2010 for her stellar performance in the film ‘Guzaarish.’ Even though the film didn’t make a mark at the box office, the performances were hailed by the critics and certainly Aishwarya looked sublime in her role of Sophia.

Aishwarya plays a nurse in the film who is the walking stick of wheelchair bound quadriplegic patient Hrithik Roshan. Out of 10,867 votes cast, Aishwarya won a decisive 77 percent and thus claimed the trophy to best actress.
In the process, she nudged past the likes of Kajol (My Name is Khan), Katrina Kaif (Rajneeti) and Vidya Balan (Ishqiya). Kajol was the runners up with 17 percent votes while Katrina Kaif bagged 3 percent of the total votes. Vidya Balan, too, barely managed 3 percent which is surprising since she had won numerous trophies for Paa the previous season.
So, for the moment it’s advantage Aishwarya Rai. You can move over the likes of Kareena, Priyanka and Deepika. The veteran Aish is here to stay.

He has styled the tresses of Hollywood divas like Heather Graham, Drew Barrymore and Sharon Stone but Los Angeles-based celebrity hair expert Jamal Hammadi is in awe of Bollywood stars Aishwarya Rai and Shah Rukh Khan. And he would love to style them too.

“I’d love to work with Aishwarya Rai. I haven’t yet. She’s got long, gorgeous hair and my god, those blue eyes. I’d definitely love to work with her. She is a beautiful lady and it’ll be fun and something different,” Hammadi told IANS in a telephonic interview from Mumbai, while on his third trip to India.

“I think Aishwaya Rai is gorgeous…Then, you have Priyanka (Chopra), who is awesome. I worked with her about a month ago. We did a Sunsilk Stunning Black Shine (Shampoo) commercial. She is so cool and fun and open. She is pretty talented as well and I like her attitude,” said the global shine expert, who is the co-creator of the shampoo.

What about Priyanka’s hair?

“Priyanka has good hair,” said Hammadi, who was in India just for a day but is looking forward to heading “north to the Himalayas for a whole spiritual thing” on his next visit.

Isn’t he aware about any Bollywood hero?

“Yes. There is Shah Rukh Khan. He is everywhere. He is huge. He is really big. I see him everywhere. And he is funny too. He has a great personality and sense of humour. I have seen his interviews. He seems cool…,” said Hammadi.

So, would he like to work on Shah Rukh’s hair?

“Sure. Absolutely! Why not,” exclaimed the hairstylist, who grew up with Eastern influences, does yoga and loves gorging on Indian food, especially “tandoori chicken and naan”.

Born in Paris, Jamal began styling in the early 1990s and is now well-known for creating glamorous looks for Hollywood celebrities and countless supermodels on the New York and Paris runways.

Known for his natural approach to achieving healthy hair shine, his clientele includes the likes of Linda Evangelista, Eva Mendes, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Julianne Moore, Kirsten Dunst, Naomi Watts and Maya Rudoph. Evangelista is one of his most dedicated clients so much so that she flew him over to London to style her hair for a Vogue cover shoot.

So who possesses the best hair in Hollywood?

” Heather Graham has amazing hair. She has got gorgeous, thick, wavy and beautiful hair. You can do anything with that,” said Hammadi, whose last job was with Barrymore.

Despite his skill, Hammadi conceded that even he faces tough times.

“It’s most challenging when I’m working in Paris in the shows. It’s beyond hairstyles. At that point you are creating sculptures and things like that. That’s the most challenging and the most rewarding for me,” he said.

“I have been doing this now for 15 years and I am confident enough with all kinds of textures, but it’s more about when you start creating these crazy, eccentric looks. You are more theatrical and it pushes you to the next level. Fashion shows really help you get that expertise,” he added.

He also has his own line, Hamadi (eds: correct) Beauty, that embodies products combining 100 percent essential oils and plant extracts. So has he thought of setting up shop in India?

“No. Not yet. There was a company that had contacted us. So we are working on that and hopefully in the future we’ll be there,” Hammadi said.

His future projects include “fashion shows and more of ads right now. And I might be working with James Franco next and probably Drew (again)”.

One must not think that Bollywood actors like Shah Rukh Khan and Aishwarya Rai are known faces only in Bollywood. Both are extremely popular all over the world and the international audience simply loves them.

Shahrukh’s films like Kabhi Khushi Kabhi Gam, ‘Kal Ho Naa Ho’ My Name is Khan etc have been lapped by people all over the world. Even according to latest reports, people are flocking to the theatres to watch his last film My Name is Khan even after two months of its release. His foreign tours have always been super successful and people are willing to spend huge amounts of dollars only to have a look at him.
His wax statue has also been placed in the iconic Madame Tussauds. This is a huge honor for any star and this proves how much Khan is respected and loved by the international media.
Recently he was honored with the Global Entertainment and Media Personality award at the FICCI Frames 2010 Excellence Awards.
Aishwarya, too, is extremely popular abroad. She has starred in international films like Pink Panther and has been appointed as the brand ambassador of the cosmetic giant L’Oreal. She has been bombarded with complements for her stunning looks probably since the day she was born.
Indeed she has to be special when fellow actresses like Kareena and Priyanka praise her for her ravishing looks.
Aishwarya is a regular face at the Cannes Film Festival and recently won Padmashri Award. A wax figure of Aishwarya dressed in traditional Indian dress graces the Madame Tussauds museum in London.
As far as the popularity of these two stars is concerned, I think that the global audience is equally crazy about these two super successful celebrities.

This year, to coincide with its 21st anniversary, NDTV also honoured Indian icons of the last 21 years – among them, Amitabh Bachchan.

On his blog, Bachchan wrote about the ceremony, which he attended with his wife, Jaya, and his daughter-in-law, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

“NDTV Indian of the Year acknowledging 21 years of the existence of the channel and simultaneously acknowledging Indians that have been an inspiration for the country in these 21 years!!”

“Young Rukhsana, the teenaged girl from Kashmir who when attacked by a terrorist, snatched his own weapon and killed him. Aradhna, the brave Mother of her daughter who after being molested by a police officer committed suicide and is fighting for 19 years now to get justice when she discovered that the officer had been let off with a warning and nothing more. Executives and bureaucrats and finance wizards that have helped in forming the modern image of progressive India.
“Ministers, politicians that have shaped well. Filmmakers and twitter artists – Karan Johar, Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya, Priyanka, Ranbir, proud parents Rishi and Neetu, AR Rahman.

Sportsmen – Sachin, Dhoni, Saina Nehwal. LK Advani and Chidambaram. LK Advani presents me mine, and admits on stage that he has not missed a single film of mine from the very first Saat Hidustani, for which he had been dragged to by my Mother – Advani having had a very close relationship with our family since very early years – right down to Paa !! I am so humbled. So many luminaries in the audience.”

“The most powerful in the country in politics and the services. The three Army chiefs, and the people that matter in India’s presence, all mingling in a vast multitude of acknowledgment to those deserving candidates in the last 21 years of the country.”

And in the middle of all this – Sachin playing the one-dayer with South Africa in Gwalior creates history by being the first human in the universe to have scored 200 runs in an ODI and India beats So Africa by a huge margin to retain their world position. Dhoni on teleconference from the cricket venue, including me as one of his inspirations in life aaahhhh !! Just so much praise humbling humbling.”

“I send Sachin a congratulatory sms and he responds back with his customary thanks and love …….”

We have heard of actresses fighting over the same make up man. For instance, there were reports in the media that Priyanka and Kareena share the same make up man, Pompy, and that both wanted him to do their make up for their films.

In a new twist to the tale, there are two make up artistes at loggerheads with each other to style Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. A source informed, “During the shoot of Raavan, Ash’s make up was initially done by a make up artiste called Amrita Garma.