Aishwarya Rai Bachchan filmography

Rai Bachchan in 2023

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian actress who has appeared in 48 films in five languages, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil. She made her acting debut in 1997 with dual role in Mani Ratnam's Tamil political drama film Iruvar, and her Bollywood debut that same year in the romantic comedy Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol.[1][2] Rai followed it with a leading role in Jeans (1998), a high-profile Tamil film that was submitted as India's official entry to the Academy Awards.[3][4] She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her breakthrough role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and starred as a singer in the musical drama Taal (both 1999).[5][6][7][8]

Rai had six film releases in 2000, including Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Tamil adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, and Aditya Chopra's romantic drama Mohabbatein.[9][10] In 2002, Rai starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Bhansali's period romance Devdas, an adaptation of the novel of the same name.[11] Her performance in the top-grossing production earned her a second Best Actress award at Filmfare.[6][12] In 2003, Rai played a sexually repressed widow in Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film Chokher Bali, a sleeper hit.[13][14] However, the failure of her two Hindi film releases of the year—Dil Ka Rishta and Kuch Naa Kaho—led to a setback in her Bollywood career.[15][16] The following year, Rai played a character based on Elizabeth Bennet in a Bollywood-style adaptation of Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, entitled Bride and Prejudice, a British production directed by Gurinder Chadha.[17] Also in 2004, she reunited with Ghosh to play an unhappily married woman in the drama Raincoat.[18]

In 2006, Rai featured as a thief in the action film Dhoom 2, her biggest commercial success since Devdas.[16] She followed it by playing the leading lady opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Ratnam's drama Guru (2007), a box office hit.[19] Also in 2007, Rai appeared in her first Hollywood production—the unremarkable The Last Legion.[20][21][22] Greater success came to her (as Rai Bachchan) with the role of Jodhaa Bai opposite Hrithik Roshan's Akbar in the historical drama Jodhaa Akbar (2008).[23][24] Rai Bachchan had five film releases in 2010, including the ₹250 crore (US$30 million)-grossing Tamil science fiction film Enthiran co-starring Rajinikanth.[25] She also played a quadriplegic's nurse in Bhansali's acclaimed drama Guzaarish.[26][27] After a sabbatical, Rai Bachchan made her comeback with Jazbaa (2015), a remake of the South Korean film Seven Days, and took on the supporting part of a poetess in Karan Johar's commercially successful romance Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.[28][29] She reunited with Ratnam for the two-part period films Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023); the former earned ₹500 crore (US$60 million) to rank as her highest-grossing release and one of the highest-grossing Tamil films.[30]

  1. ^ Warrier, Shobha (3 September 2003). "25 years, 25 landmarks". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 21 January 2016. Retrieved 2 April 2009.
  2. ^ Roy, Gitanjoli (1 November 2012). "Who is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan?". NDTV. Archived from the original on 16 November 2012. Retrieved 17 November 2012.
  3. ^ Rajitha (20 April 1998). "Wonder of wonders". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 17 July 2014.
  4. ^ Chopra, Anupama (26 March 2001). "Waiting for the Oscar". India Today. Archived from the original on 18 August 2014. Retrieved 9 April 2014.
  5. ^ "Family values". The Hindu. 8 March 2002. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  6. ^ a b "Best Actor in a Leading Role (Female) award winners down the years". Filmfare. 31 December 2015. Archived from the original on 15 March 2016. Retrieved 15 April 2016.
  7. ^ Sharma, Anu (6 March 2011). Genius of India. Pinnacle Technology. p. 26. ISBN 978-1-61820-544-5.
  8. ^ "Box Office India report of 1999". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 21 December 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  9. ^ Baskaran, S. Theodore (28 May 2000). "From the known to the unknown". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 19 October 2011. Retrieved 22 April 2011.
  10. ^ "Box Office 2000". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 22 September 2012. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  11. ^ Chowdhury, Souvik (23 September 2002). "Celebrating Devdas". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 29 November 2010. Retrieved 1 June 2011.
  12. ^ "Box Office India report of 2002". Archived from the original on 27 December 2007. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
  13. ^ Pillai, Shreedhar (13 November 2003). "Alluring Ash". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 28 November 2003. Retrieved 13 November 2003.
  14. ^ Saha, Sambit (10 January 2004). "Bengali films zoom in on profits". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 14 January 2004. Retrieved 10 January 2004.
  15. ^ "Box Office 2003". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  16. ^ a b Sharma, Neha (16 September 2012). "Over the Years: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan". Hindustan Times. Archived from the original on 14 May 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  17. ^ Dargis, Manohla (11 February 2005). "Mr. Darcy and Lalita, singing and dancing". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 12 May 2013. Retrieved 21 October 2012.
  18. ^ Verma, Sukanya (24 December 2004). "Rain coat is simply beautiful". Rediff.com. Archived from the original on 6 April 2009. Retrieved 9 March 2009.
  19. ^ "Box Office 2007". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 8 January 2008.
  20. ^ "Enter Hollywood". The Tribune. 10 July 2005. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  21. ^ "The Last Legion (2007)". Rotten Tomatoes. Archived from the original on 28 July 2014. Retrieved 29 June 2014.
  22. ^ "'Superbad' delivers super debut with ,1.2 million debut". International Herald Tribune. 19 September 2007. Archived from the original on 31 January 2009. Retrieved 5 January 2009.
  23. ^ Burgoyne, Robert (24 November 2010). The Epic Film in World Culture. Routledge. p. 104. ISBN 978-1-135-85535-2.
  24. ^ "Box Office 2008". Box Office India. Archived from the original on 14 October 2013. Retrieved 6 October 2011.
  25. ^ Chopra, Anuj (26 December 2010). "Star turn for Indian entertainment". The National. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 30 July 2014.
  26. ^ D. Gupta, Pratim (20 November 2010). "Hrithik in wonderland". The Telegraph. Archived from the original on 25 October 2012. Retrieved 26 November 2012.
  27. ^ "They should've shown my abs in 'Guzaarish': Hrithik". CNN-IBN. 17 January 2012. Archived from the original on 8 August 2014. Retrieved 27 July 2014.
  28. ^ Kumar, Anuj (9 October 2015). "Jazbaa: Shockingly sloppy". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 21 December 2017. Retrieved 8 February 2016.
  29. ^ "Karan Johar finally scores a century with 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil' crossing Rs 100 crore mark!". Daily News and Analysis. 17 February 2017. Archived from the original on 11 November 2016. Retrieved 9 November 2016.
  30. ^ "Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan: 1 Enters Rs 500-Crore Club At Worldwide Box Office". News18. 3 November 2022. Archived from the original on 4 January 2023. Retrieved 7 November 2022.