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 commercial success and she also played the female lead in Rajeev Menon's Tamil film Kandukondain Kandukondain with Ajith which was also a success. She then appeared in popular Bollywood 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 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 Paul Mayeda Berges, was released in the U.K. in April 2006. She played the title role in Umrao Jaan which released on November 3, 2006. The film was a commercial failure but gained her positive reviews for her performance. She played a somewhat negative role in Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit Dhoom, was released on November 24, 2006. Dhoom 2 has been a huge hit all over the globe.
On January 11, 2007, her film Guru, premiered in Toronto. It is rare for a Bollywood film to premiere in North America [25]
Personal life
Aishwarya Rai was born in Mangalore in the state of Karnataka , India to Krishnaraj and Vrinda Rai, a writer. A practicing Hindu, Rai has described herself as having "immense faith in God and my friends". When at home she attends the Siddhivinayak Mandir, devoted to Ganesha. In the words of Amitabh Bachchan, Aishwarya is very "domesticated"[26]. She lives in Mumbai with her parents.
Aishwarya 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. Aishwarya said that Salman physically abused her, which she claimed precipitated their parting of ways. Soon after in 2004, she stated dating actor, Vivek Oberoi. They broke up in 2006 when Ash felt he was using her name to his popularity.
Then gossip columnists started to link her with Bollywood celebrity Abhishek Bachchan, son of Amitabh Bachchan. She was frequently seen in public with him and his family, fueling rumors of an engagement. Finally, on January 14, 2007, Abhishek and Aishwarya officially announced their engagement. [27]. Also, the couple's wedding is taking place on April 20th.[citation needed]
