Aishwarya Rai

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 ancestors are from the Bunt community of Mangalore. 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 2004.Rai 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 Hindi, English, Urdu, Kannada, Marathi, and Tamil.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.She has formerly dated Bollywood actors Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi. After much speculation concerning their relationship, her engagement to Abhishek Bachchan was announced on January 14, 2007 . The run-up as well as the marriage between Rai and Bachchan was heavily covered by the media. They married on April 20, 2007 in a private ceremony held at the Bachchans' bungalow Prateeksha [5].The newly married couple made their public appearence at Tirupati temple when they visited there for blessing.  Aishwarya Rai will face the camera for the first time after marriage in Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar .

CareerThis article or section does not cite any references or sources.Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)Any material not supported by sources may be challenged and removed at any time. This article has been tagged since May 2007.Aishwarya debuted in Mani Ratnam's Tamil language film, Iruvar with Mohanlal. She was introduced to Bollywood in the film, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya; the film did not do well at the box office. However, her third project, a Tamil-language film, Jeans by S. Shankar was a critical and commercial success for which she was awarded the Filmfare Best Actress Award South.

Aishwarya then appeared in many Bollywood films, a few successful films [8]of her career include Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Taal (1999) for which her performance lauded. She was awarded the Filmfare Best Actress Award for her role in the former. In 2000 she had a supporting role in the hit film , Mohabbatein.In 2002, Rai appeared with superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit in the lavishly produced Devdas, which was a major box-office success [9] and earned her the Filmfare Best Actress Award [10]. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival .
It was during this time that she garnered the attention of the West as an Indian actress and went on to sign a few Hollywood projects.As her name gained popularity in the West, seemingly on account of her beauty, she was chosen by Time magazine in 2004 as one of the World's "100 Most Influential People" and in 2003, appeared on the cover of Time magazine.

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She was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2. A month later she appeared on the Late Show with David Letterman. She was also featured on Oprah's "Women Across the Globe" segment . In 2003, she acted in the critically acclaimed Bengali film, Chokher Bali, an adaptation of one of Rabindranath Tagore's novel by the same name.Rai has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival since 2002, and was a member of the Jury at Cannes in the year 2003. In October 2004, a wax figure of Rai became on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax museum [14]. The same month, her first foreign film released: Bride and Prejudice. The film was an inspired Indian version of Jane Austen's classic novel Pride and Prejudice. The film did well commercially in the U.K but not in India. Her next overseas venture "Mistress of Spices" was critically acclaimed though not commercially successful.

She then 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.In between her overseas acting stints, she appeared in the Indian film Bunty Aur Babli in a hugely popular seven minute dance sequence for the song "Kajra Re". The dance sequence paired Rai with Abhishek Bachchan (apart from Amitabh Bachchan), who two years later became her husband.At the end of the year 2006, she had two releases: Umrao Jaan and Dhoom 2. Umrao Jaan did poorly in India, however, her role in Dhoom 2, a sequel to the 2004 hit movie Dhoom brought her great attention.

It was a hit commercially too. . Incidentally, both of these films also co-starred Rai's later husband, Abhishek Bachchan.2007 saw the release of Mani Ratnam's Guru which premiered in Toronto. The film was commercially and critically very successful. Her most recent film, Provoked, based on the book "Circle of Light", where she potrays a real life character, was released on 6 April, 2007 in India and the UK. The film did well commercially in the UKIt was critically acclaimed all over the world.
At the end of April 2007 her first American film, The Last Legion, was released in Russia and the Netherlands. The film is expected to open in North American theaters in August 2007.[edit] TriviaShe was voted No. 5 on the sexiest stars of 2006. She was the only woman in the Top 5.



[20]She was ranked No. 10 on the list of the Best Bollywood Actresses Ever.[21]In 2006, she was voted No. 2 on the India's Most Desirable Women List.[22]She topped Indiatimes List of the Most Beautiful Women in the Past Century.She was placed 1 in 2003, 3 in 2004 and 2 in 2005 and 2006 in the Filmfare List of Top Ten Bollywood Actresses. Besides Rani Mukerji, she is the only other actress to appear in the Filmfare’s Annual Power List. She was placed 7 in 2003 and 9 in 2005.[23][24]When the IIFA awards took place in Amsterdam, Aishwarya had a breed of tulip named after her.[25]She is also the first female celebrity to make her mark on the Dubai Studio City Wall of Fame during the IIFA Awards in Dubai[26]She was placed 3rd by Eastern Eye on the List of Sexiest Asian Women.,[27]She was the seventh Most Admired Indian according to a survey by The Week in 2000. She was the only actress in the Top 10.[28][edit] CommitmentsAishwarya Rai is very active in charity work.She visited Pakistan as a goodwill ambasaddor to raise funds for a campaign launched against breast cancer.The campaign was called 'Pink Ribbon'.

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[29]She participated in the Help!Telethon Concert to raise funds for the victims of the Indian Ocean Tsunami.[30]She is also a supporter of PETA.[31]She has campaigned for the Eye Bank Association for India and has pledged to donate her eyes.[32]She established the Aishwarya Rai Foundation in 2004 to help poor people who are in need of money or clothes.[33][edit] Awards and Nominations[edit] Filmfare AwardsWinner1998:Filmfare Best Actress Award South for Jeans1999:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam,[34]2002:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Devdas[35]Nominated1999:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Taal[36]2000:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai[37]2000:Filmfare Best Supporting Actress Award for Mohabbatein[38]2004:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Raincoat[39]2006:Filmfare Best Actress Award for Dhoom 2[40]She has received six nominations for Best Actress at the Filmfare Awards and won twice.In 1999 she received two nominations in the Best Actress category for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and Taal and won for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. In 2000 she was nominated in the Best Actress category as well as the Best Supporting Actress category.
Star Screen AwardsWinner1997:Star Screen Award Most Promising Newcomer - Female for Aur Pyar Ho Gaya[41]1999:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam[42]2002:Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Shahrukh Khan for Devdas[43]2002:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Devdas[44]Nominated1998:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Taal2000:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai2000:Star Screen Award Best Supporting Actress for Mohabbatein2004:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Raincoat2006:Star Screen Award Best Actress for Dhoom 2[45]2006:Star Screen Award Jodi No. 1 along with Hrithik Roshan for Dhoom 2[edit] International Indian Film Academy AwardsWinner2000:IIFA Best Actress Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam[46]2003:IIFA Best Actress Award for Devdas[47]2005:IIFA Global Indian Media Personality Award[48]Nominated2000:IIFA Best Actress Award for Taal2001:IIFA Best Actress Award for Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai2005:IIFA Best Actress Award for Raincoat[edit] Zee Cine AwardsWinner2000: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam[49]


2003: Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Devdas[50]2003: Zee Cine True Indian Beauty Award[51]2005: Zee Cine Critics' Best Actor Award- Female for Raincoat[52]Nominated2000:Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Taal2007:Zee Cine Award Best Actor- Female for Umrao Jaan[edit] Z Gold Awards2000:Zee Gold Best Actress Award in a Sensational Role for Taal[53]2000:Zee Gold Best Actress Critic’s Award for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam[54]2000:Zee Gold Best Actress Award for Taal[55][edit] Other2002, Rajiv Gandhi Award for Excellence in Field of Entertainment2004, GR8! Women Award for Contribution to Cinema2004, Global Foreign Artiste Debutantes to Mainstream Media Award2004, F Awards-For Excellence in Indian Fashion - Female Celebrity Model of the Year2005, MTV Immies Best Performance in a Song - Kajra Re2007: Stardust Star of the Year Award - Female for Dhoom 2[56][edit] Femina Miss India1994, Miss Catwalk1994, Miss Miraculous1994, Miss Photogenic1994, Miss Perfect Ten1994, Miss Popular1994, Miss India World (Winner of the title)[edit] International Honours1994, Miss World 19942000, Most Beautiful International Titleholder of All Times Gold Medal Winner2000, Most Beautiful Miss World of All Times-Received the highest score of 9.911[57]2003, Cover of Time Magazine2003, Official Cannes Jury Member2004, Wax London's prestigious Madame Tussauds Wax museum[58]2005, British Govt’s Next Step World Diversity Champion Award.