Gorgeous Aishwarya Rai-10
Thursday, January 18, 2007
Early life
Aishwarya Rai was born November 1, 1973 in Mangalore, in the South Indian state of Karnataka, to Krishnaraj Rai, a marine engineer, and Vrinda Rai, a writer. She studied in Mangalore until 7th grade. Her family later relocated to Mumbai. Rai has one brother, Aditya Rai, who is three years older. Aditya is in the merchant navy, and has also co-produced a film with Rai in the lead.
Her native language is Tulu; she also speaks Hindi, Marathi, English and Tamil. She is Hindu. She attended the Arya Vidya Mandir at Santacruz, then entered Ruparel College, Matunga, Mumbai. She was an A student and was on track to become an architect.[1]
Rai began modeling on the side while studying architecture. She was a contestant in the Miss India 1994 pageant, which she lost to Sushmita Sen but later went on to compete for the Miss World title and won.
Career
Aishwarya Rai debuted in Mani Ratnam's Tamil language film, Iruvar with Mohanlal and Tabu. She played a dual role in the film. She was introduced to Bollywood by Rahul Rawail in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya; the film was a poor performer at the box office. However, her third project, a Tamil-language film, Jeans by S. Shankar was a critical success. She then appeared in popular films Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Mohabbatein (2000). In 2002, Rai appeared with Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a major box-office success. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival and garnering international attention.
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 World." 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.
In the past, Indian actors and actresses were celebrities in South Asia, Central Asia, and the Middle East, but mostly unknown to the rest of the world. Aishwarya is one of the few Indian actresses to have attempted to step into Western territory. 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-influenced version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice.
Her next overseas venture, Mistress of Spices, from the novel by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni and directed by Berges, was released in the U.K. in April 2006. The film Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit Dhoom, was released on November 24, 2006.
On January 11, 2007, her film Guru, premiered in Toronto. It is rare for a Bollywood film to premier in North America
Personal life
A practicing Hindu, Rai has described herself as having "immense faith in God". [2] When at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir, devoted to Lord Ganesh. Rai lives in Mumbai with her parents.
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. For a time, Rai was frequently seen in public with her co-star Vivek Oberoi.
Then gossip columnists started to link her with Bollywood celebrity Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh Bachchan, who co-starred with her in several films. She was frequently seen in public with Abhishek and his family, fueling rumors of an engagement. Finally, on January 14, 2007, Abhishek and Aishwarya officially announced their engagement. No wedding date has been announced
Trivia
Stands 5 foot 7 inches tall.[4]
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. [5]
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.[6]
When the IFFA awards took place in Amsterdam, Aishwarya had a breed of tulip named after her as well. [7]
In 2000, Aishwarya Rai, Miss World 1994 from India, was named the Most Beautiful Miss World of All Time [4]
Julia Roberts credited her as one of the most beautiful women in the world.[5]
She is the target of an obscenity case filed by a lawyer offended by her onscreen kiss in the recently released hit, Dhoom 2.
1998, Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female, Aur Pyar Ho Gaya
1998, Screen Discovery of the Year
1998, Filmfare Best Actress Award South, Jeans
2000, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, Stardust Millennium Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, Zee Lux Face of the Year
2000, Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, IIFA Best Actress Award , Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, Zee Gold Best Actress Award in Sensational Role, Taal
2000, Zee Gold Best Critics Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, Zee Gold Best Actress Award, Taal
2003, Zee Cine Award True Indian Beauty
2003, Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female, Devdas
2003, Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 shared with Shahrukh Khan for Devdas
2003, Star Screen Award Best Actress, Devdas
2003, Filmfare Best Actress Award, Devdas
2003, Sansui Best Actress Award, Devdas
2003, IIFA Best Actress Award, Devdas
2003, Bollywood Awards Best Actress, Devdas
2005, Zee Cine Critic’s Best Actress Award, Raincoat
2005, IIFA’s Global Indian Media Personality
2006, Indiatimes Number *5 In Sexiest Bollywood Stars Poll
Other
2000, Rupa Filmgoers Millennium Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2000, Priyadarshini International Best Actress Award, Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
2001, BWSK Fantasy Award for Best Supporting Actress, Mohabbatein
2002, RACE Best Actress Award, Devdas
2002, RACE (V Shantaram) Best Female Artist Award, Devdas
2004, GR8! Women Award for Contribution to Cinema
2004, Global Foreign Artiste Debutantes to Mainstream Media Award
2004, F Awards-For Excellence in Indian Fashion-Female Celebrity Model of the Year
2005, MTV Immies Best Performance in a Song-Kajra Re
2006, Zee Astitva Awards-Outstanding Contribution to Cinema
National Honours
2002, Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Field of Entertainment
International Honours and Achievements
1994, Miss Catwalk
1994, Miss Photogenic
1994, Miss Perfect Ten
1994, Miss Popular
1994, Femina Miss India World-1st Runner-up
1994, Most photogenic Face
1994, Miss World 1994
2000, Most Beautiful International Titleholder of All Times Gold Medal Winner
2000, Most Beautiful Miss World of All Times-Received the highest score of 9.911
2003, Cover of Time Magazine
2003, Official Cannes Jury Member
2004, Ran to Olympic Torch
2004, Hello Magazine's Yearly Most Beautiful Poll, Winner
2004, Wax London's prestigious Madame Tussauds Wax museum
2005, Appeared on CBS 60 mins, Oprah Winfrey, Good Morning America and The David Letterman Show
