Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai was born on November 1, 1973, into a Tulu speaking family in Mangalore, Karnataka, to Krishnaraj and Brinda Rai. Her father was an Army biologist who died on March 18, 2017. Her elder brother, Aditya Rai, is in the merchant navy.

When the family moved to Mumbai, Rai attended the Arya Vidya Mandir High School. She then went to Jai Hind College for a year, and later joined DG Ruparel College in Matunga. She secured 90 percent in the intermediate exams.

During her teens, she learnt classical dance and music for five years. Initially she aspired to become an architect, and enrolled at Rachana Sansad Academy of Architecture. However, she gave up her studies to pursue a career in modeling.

In 1993, Aishwarya Rai shot to fame in the modeling industry for her appearance in a Pepsi advertisement with actor Aamir Khan. The breakthrough in her career came in 1994, when she won the second place in the Miss India pageant, and was crowned Miss India World. She then represented India in the Miss World Pageant, and won the crown.

In 1997, she made her acting debut with Mani Ratnam's Tamil film ‘Iruvar’. She portrayed both Pushpavalli and Kalpana. The same year, she did her debut Bollywood film ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya’.

In 1998, she appeared in a Tamil film ‘Jeans’. The film was a commercial success, and she earned praise for her acting and dancing skills. Rai’s first successful Hindi film was Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s romantic drama ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’ in 1999, opposite Salman Khan and Ajay Devgan. She was praised for her beauty and acting skills, and it pushed her acting career in the right direction.

Her next hit was Subhash Ghai's ‘Taal’ in 1999, where she was featured along with Akshaye Khanna and Anil Kapoor. She was praised for her acting and dancing prowess. In 2000, she starred in a Tamil film ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’, for which she earned positive comments for her powerful acting.

In 2000, she did ‘Josh’ alongside Shah Rukh Khan and Chandrachur Singh. The film earned mixed reviews, but emerged commercially successful. After her film ‘Dhai Akshar Prem Ke’ opposite Abhishek Bachchan flopped in 2000, she appeared in a supporting role in ‘Mohabbatein’ in the same year.

Some of Aishwarya Rai’s major works in which her acting skills were praised are ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Taal’ and ‘Devdas.’ Two of her films with Bengali director Rituparno Ghosh—‘Chokher Bali’ and ‘Raincoat’—earned her applaud from the critics. Her performance in ‘Jodhaa Akbar’ too was critically acclaimed.