Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an epitome of beauty, to date. The actress is likely to turn 47 but her charm and grace is still a talk of the town. Being an actress, the winner of the Miss World 1994 pageant, a mother and a wife, is her acclaimed treasures. She has established herself as one of the most popular and influential celebrities in India. Rai has received numerous accolades, including two Filmfare Awards, and was honoured with the Padma Shri by the Government of India in 2009 and the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the Government of France in 2012. She has often been cited in the media as “the most beautiful woman in the world”.
Aishwarya is a very talented and versatile actress, and as a teen, she was trained for classical dance and music. Her very first achievement was in 1991 when she got featured in the American edition of Vogue. In 1994, she was the runner-up of Miss India Pageant, behind Sushmita Sen. Although she won various titles and subtitles in the process. She was crowned Miss India World and was also granted the sub-titles, “Miss Catwalk”, “Miss Miraculous”, “Miss Photogenic”, “Miss Perfect Ten” and “Miss Popular”. Being a runner-up, it was her duties to represent India in the Miss World Pageant, which she went on to win the crown. After winning the pageant, Rai spoke of her dream for peace for this world, and her desire to be an ambassador of peace during her one-year reign in London.
Rai made her debut in 1997 with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Iruvar. Ever since then her life and acting career took a turn. Her story selection and roles are chosen to be played have been brilliant. Jeans (Tamil) and Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Hindi) became a significant turning point in her career. Shankar, as a director, did a tremendous job at portraying Aishwarya as a beautiful young lady and he had enough room to showcase her acting skills as well. Especially, Dil De Chuke Sanam is marked as a very momentous film for her, as she won her first-ever Filmfare award for her performance in the movie. Nevertheless, her true potential wouldn’t have been witnessed by the audience if it weren’t for the movies like Devdas, Jodha Akbar and Enthiran.
In 2007, Rai played the wife of Abhishek Bachchan’s character in Mani Ratnam’s social drama Guru. The film met with international critical acclaim and emerged as a box-office success. Richard Corliss of Time labelled her character as an “ornament”, but Raja Sen from Rediff described it as “arguably her finest performance, visible especially when she takes over the film’s climax.” Along with the domestic appraisal, her international fame was bolstered as well. Rai starred alongside Ben Kingsley, Colin Firth and Thomas Sangster as the Indian warrior Mira in Doug Lefler’s epic film The Last Legion. Rai’s next Hollywood role was in the 2009 Harald Zwart-directed spy comedy The Pink Panther 2. Starring alongside Steve Martin, Jean Reno and Emily Mortimer, Rai portrayed the role of Sonia Solandres, a seductive criminology expert.
Moreover, she is an absolute gem off-screen as well. She has been a part of and performed many social and humanitarian works. Rai is the brand ambassador for The Eye Bank Association of India’s nationwide campaign to promote eye donation in India. In 2005, she became a brand ambassador for Pulse Polio, a campaign established by the Government of India in 1994 to eradicate polio in India. In the same year, Rai was appointed spokesperson for the International Year of Microcredit, raising awareness of the main goals and priorities of the United Nations’ poverty alleviation efforts. Rai is also a UN Microcredit Spokesperson, supports PETA India and pledged to donate her eyes to the Eye Bank Association of India and appeared in a public awareness film on eye donation.
