Photo: Collected
The Miss World crown, then the silver screen of Bollywood, and from there the global stage — Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has left her own mark on every chapter of a colourful career. Sometimes as Parvati lost in love, sometimes as the lively Shirley, and at other times as the mysterious Sunehri, she has won a place in audiences’ hearts.
Alongside her looks and acting, the glow of her fashion and personality has also made her known around the world. Today is the popular actress’s birthday. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan turned 53 on 1 November.
Aishwarya was born on 1 November 1973 in Mangaluru, Karnataka, India. She began her professional life with modelling.
She gained international recognition after winning the Miss World crown in 1994. A new chapter began when she then stepped into films. Her big-screen debut came in 1997 with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film ‘Iruvar’. The same year she began her journey in Hindi cinema with ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’.
She caught audiences’ attention with 1999’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’. She went on to act in films such as ‘Taal’, ‘Mohabbatein’, ‘Devdas’, ‘Dhoom 2’, ‘Guru’ and ‘Jodhaa Akbar’. But a few roles have found a special place in viewers’ hearts.
Paro — ‘Devdas’
In ‘Devdas’, Aishwarya plays Parvati, or Paro, opposite Shah Rukh Khan. Her presence in the role, built on the emotions of love, waiting and separation, won praise from audiences.
Directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali, the film was also screened at the Cannes Film Festival in 2002.
Shirley — ‘Josh’
In ‘Josh’ she is Shirley Dias. The outfits and easy presence of this lively young woman from Goa were popular with audiences in the nineties. The film’s song ‘Mere Khayalon Ki Malika’ is also still well known.
Manasi — ‘Taal’
Subhash Ghai’s ‘Taal’ was released in 1999. Her acting, dancing and song sequences as Manasi opposite Anil Kapoor and Akshaye Khanna won praise. She also stood out in the film’s popular songs.
Megha — ‘Mohabbatein’
In 2000’s ‘Mohabbatein’, Aishwarya played Megha. Her screen time in the role opposite Shah Rukh Khan was short. Even so, Megha’s influence ran through an important part of the story.
Ameeran — ‘Umrao Jaan’
Aishwarya played Ameeran in 2006’s ‘Umrao Jaan’. Rekha had played the same role in the 1981 film. In the new version, Aishwarya brought the character to life in her own way. Besides her acting, her dancing and costumes also drew attention.
Binodini — ‘Chokher Bali’
In Rituparno Ghosh’s 2003 Bengali film ‘Chokher Bali’, she is Binodini. Based on Rabindranath Tagore’s novel, the film centres on the life of an educated young widow. Amid the many restrictions of the society of that time, Binodini searches for room for her own wishes, desires and identity. Through restrained acting, Aishwarya brought out the character’s intelligence, emotional conflict and protest against conventional social customs. Binodini is regarded as one of the most unusual and complex roles of her career.
Sunehri — ‘Dhoom 2’
In ‘Dhoom 2’, released in 2006, Aishwarya appeared in a completely different avatar as Sunehri, opposite Hrithik Roshan. With its mix of dance, style and a cunning character, Sunehri became one of the most talked-about roles of her career.
Neerja — ‘Raincoat’
She played Neerja in another Rituparno Ghosh film, ‘Raincoat’. Neerja had once been in love with Manu, played by Ajay Devgn. When she meets her former lover after many years, their conversation brings up memories of the past, the crises of their present lives and stories of many unfulfilled hopes. Away from conventional commercial films, Aishwarya showed a different side of herself here through restrained acting.
Saba — ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’
She was seen as Saba Taliyar Khan in 2016’s ‘Ae Dil Hai Mushkil’. Saba is an art curator by profession. Although she was not on screen for long, her presence caught audiences’ eye.
Beyond Bollywood, Aishwarya has also worked in English-language films. ‘Bride and Prejudice’, ‘The Mistress of Spices’, ‘Provoked’, ‘The Last Legion’ and ‘The Pink Panther 2’ are some of them. These works have also made her known in international cinema.
She has long been a familiar face on the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival as well. She first went to Cannes in 2002, for the screening of ‘Devdas’. The following year she became a jury member of the festival’s main competition section. Since then her appearances at Cannes have regularly been discussed in the international media.
She has also received recognition for her acting more than once. She won the Filmfare Best Actress award for ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ and ‘Devdas’. In 2009 the Indian government conferred the Padma Shri on her. In 2012 she received the ‘Order of Arts and Letters’ honour from the French government.
In her personal life, Aishwarya married actor Abhishek Bachchan in 2007. Their daughter Aaradhya Bachchan was born on 16 November 2011. She continues to move forward, balancing both acting and family. The Miss World crown, memorable Bollywood roles, international films or the Cannes red carpet — she has made her presence felt everywhere. Looking back on her long career on her 53rd birthday, it is clear that, beyond her identity as a beauty, Aishwarya has also won a place in audiences’ hearts through the many shades of her acting.
Sources
Original report: Bangladesh Pratidin
