Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya’s natural beauty was evident at a young age. Her flawless good looks, accentuated by her piercing blue-green eyes, led her to modeling jobs when she was still young. Her face has been seen on the covers of countless fashion and entertainment magazines including Vogue, Cosmopolitan, and Vanity Fair. She was also on the cover of Time Magazine’s Asian publication as “the new face of film.”Although many acting jobs were offered to her while still attending school, Aishwarya resisted the temptation and continued her studies. It wasn’t until after she won the Miss World pageant in 1994 that she began to seriously consider acting and started to accept some of the roles that were being literally handed to her.Her feature film debut came in 1997 in India’s Iruvar. Since then she has appeared in over 30 movies. She’s won two Filmfare (India’s equivalent to the Oscars) awards in the best actress category – one for 1999’s Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and the other for 2002’s Devdas. Aishwarya’s popularity in her native country has also earned her honors in Zee Cine Awards, the Screen Weekly Awards, and the Awards of the International Indian Film Academy. With her star firmly cemented in Bollywood, Aishwarya is on her way to shining in Hollywood. In 1994 she made her first English language film, Bride and Prejudice, a musical which retells the story of Jane Austen’s Pride and Prejudice. Her performance was critically praised and well accepted by fans.Her performance brought her to the attention of the American film industry and has landed her roles in films opposite major stars such as Meryl Streep, Colin Firth and Ben Kingsley. She continues to act in Bollywood films while branching out to Hollywood.While Aishwarya is focusing on her acting career she continues to model. She’s a member of L’Oreal’s Dream Team and represents the cosmetic company worldwide. Not one to simply reap the benefits of her fame, Aishwarya is using the advantages that stardom and the money that comes along with it bring to found the Aishwarya Rai Foundation. This charity is committed to giving relief to those affected by 2005’s tragic tsunami which ravaged the part of the world she calls home. Her foundation strives to meet the immediate needs of the victims as well as providing for their long term needs by building new homes and repairing fishing boats.As Aishwarya continues her career, more and more people are taking notice. In 2004 she carried the Olympic flame through her native India. That same year Time Magazine named her one of Most 100 Most Influential People. With recognition like that and the attention of those in Hollywood, it won’t be long until Bollywood’s superstar becomes an international superstar.
Latest News Aishwarya Rai:

Aishwarya Rai bedazzling China
Aishwarya Rai, one of the hottest celebrities of Bollywood, is now casting her spell in China. This world beauty has visited the place in order to attend Indian film festival held there.The festival will screen Aish’s two blockbuster movies: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Choker Bali (Bengali). This is meant to entertain the Chinese fans of Aishwarya Rai who hardly get a chance to watch her movies.The festival will be held for two full weeks in the two most beautiful cities of China- Shanghai and Beijing (the capital city). It will show ten different films in different Indian regional languages. This festival is a part of the ongoing ‘2006 India- China Friendship Year.Hope Aish makes the best out of it!!
Aish all set to enlighten the Diwali 2007
The evergreen queen of hearts Aishwarys Rai has decided to not just bring a brighter Diwali this year but also to light up the festival of lights 2007. The Bollywood heartthrob is also awaiting the release of her much talked about film ‘Umrao Jaan’ in the month of Diwali.She is also waiting to surprise her fans with her another big venture ‘Jodha Akbar’ in which she plays the lead role opposite Hrithik Roshan. It is reported that the shooting of romantic scenes for Jodha Akbar will commence next month (September) under the supervision of the famous director Ashutosh Gowarikar. This movie is a 16th century love story between a Muslim emperor and a Hindu princess and would be shot in palaces and forts in western and northern India.
Aishwarya Rai wins Starwars Hottest Bollywood Celebrity contest 2006
She is certainly the Queen of Hearts, her fanfare is growing with her age, Aishwarya Rai is still unbeaten. Recently the lady has won the title of hottest Bollywood celebrity of the year 2006. Aish got 55% votes which made her leave behind another well-known charming Indian beauty, Priyanka Chopra. In case of male actors, John Abraham with his stunning looks and performances procured the highest number of votes was declared this year’s hottest male celebrity.Right now Aishwarya is all set to hit the silver screen with her outstanding performances in Dhoom II and in Provoked premeired at Cannes and at the IIFA Dubai. Aish’s role in Provoked has already fetched her several compliments.
The World Queen turns Jhansi ki Rani
After playing some outstanding roles in blockbuster movies such as Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam, Bride and Prejudice, Khakee, etc. Aishwarya Rai will now for the very first time be playing a historical character of Rani Jhansi in Ketan Mehta’s upcoming film Jhansi ki Rani. This is Ketan’s second venture regarding a historical movie. His recent movie Mangal Pandey starring Aamir Khan did fairly well at the box office. About this female oriented historical project Ketan says “it is a common misconception abroad that Indian women are very soft and don’t have the courage to oppose anything. But my Jhansi Rani will prove beyond a doubt that Indian women are in no way inferior in courage to those outside India.” On his choice of Aishwarya Rai Ketan feels that Aish is ideal to play the Rani Jhansi role. He added “everyone is saying, but once you see the film after its release, you will be convinced that no one else would have suited the role better than Aishwarya Rai.”When spoken to Aish about the film she said that she is really excited and enthusiastic about the movie because of the uniqueness of the role and also due to her past contender Sushmita Sen playing the same character in another movie.
Aishwarya Rai hates domestic violence
The Bollywood queen Aishwarya Rai had a nostalgic experience while working for her new movie on domestic violence. This is because the blue-eyed model turned actress got reminded of the violence she had confronted at the hand of her ex-boyfriend (Salman Khan) few years back. Her new film named ‘Provoked’ is a story of a Punjabi woman who kills her harassing husband and rebels against the verdict of the court which goes against her. Rai found the script quite interesting and close to her heart. The 32 year old beauty said that “we are all extremely aware of such violence and it is something I have experienced too. This is one of the reasons that I wanted to be involved in this project.”

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai Biography

Name : Aishwarya RaiNickname : Ash, Aishu, Gullu

Date of Birth : 1st November, 1973.

Place of Birth : Mangalore, Karnataka, India

Height : 5' 7

Eyes : grey greenSign :

Scorpio. Education : Arya Vidar Mandir in Santa Cruz, Bombay, India DG Ruparel College, Matunga, Bombay, India Raheja College Architecture in Bandra, Bombay, India

Relationship : Salman Khan (actor),Vivek Oberoi(actor)

Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. Her family later relocated to Mumbai. Rai has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older than she is. Aditya is a film producer, and has occasionally produced films in which Rai acted. Aditya got married in early 2004Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, Mumbai, then entered Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai. She was an A student and was on track to become an architect. Rai's native language is Tulu; she also speaks English, Hindi, Urdu, Marathi, Tamil, and Kannada.Rai began modeling on the side while studying architecture. In the 1994 Miss India contest, she placed second behind Sushmita Sen, and went on to win the Miss World title that same year and the Miss Photogenic award. After the one year reign as Miss World in London, she then worked as a professional model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines.The first film Rai acted in was a Tamil movie Iruvar in (1997), directed by Mani Ratnam. Her first Hindi film was Aur Pyar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol. Her breakthrough performance came in 1999 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Later standout successes include Taal and Devdas. Besides Hindi language, Bollywood films, Rai has also acted in Tamil films such as Jeans and Kandukondain Kandukondain and the Bengali film Chokher Bali, and appeared in a Telugu film Ravoyi Chandamama. Since 2004 Rai has also been appearing in an increasing number of English language films.In 2002, Rai appeared with Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a huge hit. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival and being nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Film in the United States, garnering international attention for Rai.In 2003, Rai was a member of the jury at Cannes. In 2004, she was chosen by TIME Magazine's Asian Edition as one of Asia's "100 Most Influential People." She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 - "The Most Beautiful face in the Bollywood." 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. Julia Roberts named Rai the most beautiful woman in the world. 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, when 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 came just shy of breaking even at the US box office but earned over 400% return on investment in global revenue. Her later movie Mistress of Spices, written by Gurinder Chadha and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges from the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and directed by Berges, was released in the U.K. in April 2006 to a generally poor critical and commercial reception. Aishwarya has several other international, English-language films in the pipeline, including Provoked, The Last Legion, Singularity, and Chaos.The song "Kajra Re", which Rai performed in the film Bunty Aur Babli, was voted best song of 2005 and best choreographed song of 2005 in a poll by the Hindustan Times. Rai appeared at the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne, as part of a performance showcasing Indian culture, on behalf of the 2010 Commonwealth Games, to be held in New Delhi. For her three-minute dance performance, Rai was reportedly paid three crore rupees, the equivalent of about 600,000 U.S. dollars.Rai began dating Salman Khan, her co-star from Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, after the filming of that movie. Their breakup a few years later generated a substantial amount of press attention; a police report from Rai's parents turned up alleging that Khan had smashed windows and furniture at their home, and an inebriated Khan subsequently assaulted Rai on the set of a movie she was working on, soon before he was arrested for drunk driving and vehicular homicide. Years later, at the premiere of her film Provoked, in which she plays the role of a real-life victim of domestic violence, Rai reported having personally suffered from domestic violence, a reference that was linked by the press with her past relationship with Khan. Rai later had a brief relationship with Abhishek Bachchan begun during the filming of Umrao Jaan, with whom she had previously co-starred in Kuch Naa Kaho. She was reported to have broken up with Bachchan in April 2006, while the two are currently filming yet another collaboration, Dhoom 2.Rai has been described by others in the Bollywood film industry as having traditional values and being "a paragon of age-old, dutiful Indian femininity". As a practicing Hindu, she has described herself as having "immense faith in God", and when at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir, devoted to Lord Ganesh. When not on the road, Rai lives in Mumbai with her parents.

Aishwarya Rai Filmography
Chaos (2007) (in production) The Rebel (2007) (announced) .... Rani LaxmibaiSingularity (2006) (announced) .... TulajaBhopal Movie (2007) (pre-production) .... Jasmine SinghGuru (2006) (pre-production) Jodha-Akbar (2006) (pre-production) .... Jodha BhaiThe Heart of India (2006) (filming) .... Mumtaz MahalDhoom 2 (2006) (filming) The Enchanted Sword (2007) (post-production) .... MiraProvoked (2006) .... Kiranjit AhluwaliaUmrao Jaan (2006) .... Umrao JaanMistress of Spices (2005) .... TiloBunty Aur Babli (2005) .... Special Appearance (song)Shabd (2005) .... TamannaBride & Prejudice (2004) .... Lalita BakshiKyun...! Ho Gaya Na (2004) .... Diya MalhotraRaincoat (2004) .... Neerja/NeeruKhakee (2004) .... MahalaxshmiKuch Naa Kaho (2003) .... Namrata Shrivastav Chokher Bali (2003) .... BinodiniDil Ka Rishta (2003) .... Tia SharmaShakti: The Power (2002) .... Dream Girl23rd March 1931: Shaheed (2002) .... Special Appearance (song)Hum Kisi Se Kum Nahin (2002) .... Komal RastogiHum Tumhare Hain Sanam (2002) .... Special AppearenceDevdas (2002) .... Parvati ('Paro')Albela (2001) .... SoniaMohabbatein (2000) .... MeghaDhaai Akshar Prem Ke (2000) .... Sahiba GarevalHamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000) .... Preeti Virat Josh (2000) .... ShirleyKandukondain Kandukondain (2000) .... MeenakshiMela (2000) .... ChampakaliSanam Tere Hain Hum (2000) .... Special AppearanceRavoyi Chandamama (1999) .... Special Appearance (Song)Taal (1999) .... MansiHum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) .... NandiniAa Ab Laut Chalen (1999) .... Pooja WaliaJeans (1998) .... Madhumitha/VaishnaviAur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997) .... Ashi KapoorIruvar (1997) .... Pushpa/Kalpana

Aishwarya Rai Quotes

I'm just average woman with average concerns."

"Life will take its toll on all of us. We get injured, we get old. It's really sad to try to run away from these harsh realities of life. Looks are not everything. I am not going to look beautiful all the time."

"You give to the world your greatest gift when you're being yourself."

"I believe that as an actress all my fears and phobias exist till I sign on the dotted line for a film."

"I don't believe in proving a point to anybody. Nobody is that important."

"It's strange that Rakesh Roshan thinks I look older than Hrithik. In fact, he's approached me for all his home productions."

"I always knew I would be successful. So there was no element of surprise."

"I know for a fact that if there's a role which I am suited for, I'll be signed on. I'll never go begging."

"I only entered Miss India after pressure from friends and because I thought it would be a laugh".

"Comedy is difficult for an actor. But I think I have a good sense of humor and manage to make people laugh and make them happy.

"On donating her eyes after death - "People know me more because of my eyes. So, I decided to donate my eyes. But before that, I acquired all the information about the campaign. Within what time after death one has to donate eyes, and all other information. Only then I decided to donate my eyes. It's not that just for doing something, I donated my eyes. I found that useful so I did it. I like to do social service from my heart. Whatever is possible I do, but I don't speak of that. But I would like to give more time to it in the near future."

"Women in the industry have been exploited very often, but there are some actors who belive that the short cut to stardom is through nudity or exposure. Such success is, in fact, very short-lived."

"I have never done a kissing scene nor do I have intentions to.

"About her film _Chaos (2005/II)_ : When this came to be early this year, I was ecstatic. I couldn't believe that I was actually going to work with Meryl Streep, someone I've always admired. In all my interviews 10 years ago people used to ask who is your favourite actor and actress and I would mention Robert de Niro and Meryl Streep. On my first trip there I met up with de Niro and my first film is with Meryl Streep, and I said, 'Oh God that's really, really cool. Really wonderful.

Ever since I went to the Cannes festival, the media overseas really encouraged me to consider the possibilities of working in the West. Then I got a call from some people who worked in the business in America, who asked me to first obviously get an agent so that they could have direct access because that's the way they work.

About turning down the role opposite Jackie Chan in the movie _Time Breaker (2004)_ , "I did not have the required dates as I was busy with the shows abroad. I had to turn down the film. I have no regrets because there is always a next time."

Dhoom 2