One of the most beautiful women in the world Aishwarya Rai Bachchan celebrates her 41st birthday today! Best known for her flawless performances in a plethora of Bollywood films, Aishwarya has left no stone unturned to emerge as one of the most notable actresses of B-town.
Born on November 1, 1973, in Mangalore, the South Indian beauty has shone as a successful model and actress since she won the title of Miss World 1994. Though her career graph has gone through certain periods of decline, she has reinvented herself numerous times.
Apart from having a glitzy life as a Bollywood celebrity, the Padma Shri awardee actress has been serving the society also. She has been the brand ambassador of several charity organisations and campaigns like Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS (UNAIDS), Pulse Polio Campaign, and the Eye Bank Association of India's nationwide campaign, among others. Her comely appearance and gentle behavior also got her the opportunity to become the spokesperson for the International Year of Microcredit, where she spoke about the UN's poverty alleviation efforts.
Married for about seven years to Bollywood's megastar Amitabh Bachchan's son Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya leads real life roles of being a wife as well as a mother to three-year-old daughter Aaradhya.
To mark her birthday, let's take a trip down down memory lane and revisit her iconic film performances that have made her known worldwide.
Jeans (1998)
After getting criticised for her performance in debut film Aur Pyar Ho Gaya in 1997, Aishwarya's real worth was noticed in S Shankar's big budget Tamil flick Jeans in 1998. Unlike her debut Tamil film Iruvar, wherein her dialogues were dubbed by another actor, Aishwarya practiced and said her own dialogues. Jeans was also submitted as India's official entry for Best Foreign Language film to the Academy Awards, 1998.
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)
Highly lauded for the luminous performance in Sanjay Leela Bhasali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Aishwarya not only won critical acclaim for her performance, but her movie became the third highest grossing film of 1999. The movie was a cinematic adaption of Maitreyi Devi's Bengali novel Na Hanyate. The romantic-drama featured Aishwarya opposite Ajay Devgn and Salman Khan, her rumoured beau then, in a love triangle.
Taal (1999)
Aishwarya had already been noticed for her ability to dance in Jeans, and for her acting skills in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Iconic director Subahsh Ghai's musical drama Taal added another blockbuster success to Aishwarya's kitty. The romantic drama featured Aishwarya opposite Akshaye Khanna, once again after Aa Ab Laut Chale in 1999.
Devdas (2002)
Sanjay Leela Bhansali played his magic on Aishwarya once again after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in the historic love saga of Devdas, Paaro and Chandramukhi. Aishwarya won the hearts of many with her natural, heart-wrenching performance as Devdas' eternal love, Parvati, nick-named as Paaro. The film's box office success led it to be chosen as India's official entry for Best Foreign Language Film for the 2002 Academy Awards, Aishwarya's second such film.
Choker Bali (2003)
As Aishwarya's success soared, renowned director Rituparno Ghosh cast her in independent Bengali film Choker Bali. The film was a cinematic adaption of iconic Indian poet RabindranathTagore's novel Choker Bali. Aish's enchanting charm and great acting made it a critically successful movie.
Raincoat (2004)
An adaption of O Henry's book The Gift of the Magi, the low-budget film Raincoat featured Aishwarya opposite Ajay Devgn. Essaying the role of a depressed housewife, Aishwarya was seen as a daring actress who was earning wide appreciation for pulling off offbeat cinematic characters with as much ease as she did in her other movies.
Bride and Prejudice (2004)
The former Miss World now got the much-deserved international recognition after Bride and Prejudice. Though her acting abilities were questioned by the international media, the romantic drama did decent business at box office.
Dhoom 2 (2006)
Dhoom 2 came as a pleasant surprise to Aishwarya's fans as well as her critics. She shed the plain Jane avatar and completely revamped into a glamorous diva for her character of a thief. Aishwarya oozed oomph with each shot in the movie. The film, a commercial success, featured Aish against Hrithik Roshan.
Guru (2007)
Aishwarya played wife to Abhishek Bachchan on reel in Mani Ratnam's social drama Guru. As Guru became Abhishek's best performance ever, Aishwarya also got several nominations for her character.
Jodha Akbar (2008)
Considering Aishwarya a bankable artist, Ashutosh Gowarikar signed Aishwarya for his big budget period drama Jodha Akbar. Aishwarya essayed the royal queen to Akbar, a character played by Hrithik Roshan. As much as her jaw-dropping queen look was adored by many, her acting and beautiful on-screen chemistry with Hrithik made it a blockbuster.
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