Actors - Aishwarya Rai

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	Actors - Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai (IPA: Æ.vərijə raj, Kannada: ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯಾ ರೈ, Hindi: ऐश्वर्या राय; born on November 1 1973; Ash to fans and media) is a Bollywood and Hollywood actress, also a supermodel and Miss World of 1994.

Early life

Rai was born in Mangalore to Krishnaraj and Vrinda Rai, in the South Indian state of Karnataka; She speaks English, Hindi, Kannada, Tamil and Tulu. Her brother Aditya Rai is a film producer.

In the 1994 Miss India Contest Rai placed second behind Sushmita Sen and went on to win the Miss World title. She then worked as a model, in advertising and Indian fashion magazines.

Bollywood breakthrough

The first film she acted in was a Tamil movie Iruvar
in (1997), directed by Mani Ratnam. Rai's earliest films made money, but Rai herself did not impress critics -- they commented that her performances were stilted, as if she were still modeling.

Her breakthrough performance came in 1999 with Sanjay Leela Bhansali's film Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
. Later successes include Taal and Devdas
. Rai has also acted in other Tamil films such as Jeans, Kandukondain Kandukondain
, and in the Bengali film Chokher Bali
.

Dancing

Aishwarya Rai didn't click with the critics right away in acting, but she amazed them with her dancing in Thodasa Pagla (Aur Pyar Ho Gaya). Since then in most of her movies, she has been given a little part to dance in. Her dances include:

#Kehta Hai Dil Mera (Jeans) #Nimbooda (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam) #Taal Se Taal Mila & Kahin Aag Lage (Taal) #Mera Mahi Bada Sona Hai (Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke) #Jogiya Ve (23rd March 1931: Shaheed) #Silsila yeh Chaahat Ka & Dola Re Dola (Devdas) #Ishq Kamina (Shakti: The Power) #Dayya Dayya Re & Saajan Saajan (Dil Ka Rishta) #Dil Dooba (Khakee) #No No Kyun Ho Gaya Na (Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na) #Balle Balle (Bride & Prejudice) #Sholon Se (Shabd) #Kajra Re (Bunty Aur Babli)

International stardom

Devdas
, in which Aishwarya joined Bollywood superstars Shah Rukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was a huge hit, lavishly produced as it was. The film attracted overseas attention as well, receiving a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival.

Rai was becoming an international star rather than simply a Bollywood one. 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." Rai was the subject of a 60 Minutes profile on January 2, 2005 - "The Most Beautiful Woman 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.

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. British director Gurinder Chadha hired her to play the heroine in Bride and Prejudice
, a Hollywood-funded but Bollywood-ized version of Jane Austen's classic novel, Pride and Prejudice. The movie did well at the box office and Aishwarya's Hollywood profile rose a notch. She has since appeared in a number of Hollywood films, some released, some still filming or in post-production. This cut into her Bollywood film work. However, she did make time to play the lead in a remake of the classic film Umrao Jaan, now in post-production.

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