Aishwarya is more powerful than Khans

Forbes magazine has put Aishwarya above SRK, Aamir Khan and her former boyfriend Salman Khan in terms of her international appeal. Aishwarya’s husband Abhishek Bachchan is nowhere in the picture.

Abhishek’s name does not find any mention in Forbes magazine’s list of Hollywood’s most bankable stars from across the globe. Aishwarya Rai is at least 200 ranks above the second ranked Indian star on the list Aamir Khan and around 400 ranks above Shah Rukh Khan.

Aishwarya Rai is one of the most successful actresses of Bollywood. When most actress of her age have turned dotting wives and moms, the former beauty queen is experimenting in new and newer roles that are coming her way. She is still much in demand in Bollywod and also in Kollywood from where she began her acting stint.

Her beauty still sets films on fire and ensures the success of the film. Her endorsing a product ensures producers that the company will get better response from consumers. With her father in law and husband she makes the biggest Bollywood brand in the country.

Often acclaimed as the most beautiful woman in the world, Aishwarya Rai made her movie debut in Mani Ratnam's Tamil film Iruvar in the year 1997 opposite Mohanlal. She had her first commercial success in the Tamil movie Jeans 1998, and came to the attention of Bollywood through her blockbuster Hindi movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam in 1999.

The film directed by celebrated film director Sanjay Leela Bhansali was a super duper success.

The film won her the Filmfare Best Actress Award, and she successfully performed in Bhansali's next project, Devdas opposite Shah Rukh Khan in the year 2002. the film gave her second Best Actress Award at the Filmfare.

Since then, Aishwarya Rai has acted in over forty movies in Hindi, Tamil, Bengali, and English, including the international productions Bride & Prejudice (2003), Mistress of Spices (2005), and The Last Legion (2007) in English.

In the meantime Aishwarya Rai is excited about teaming up with hubby Abhishek Bachchan for Mani Ratnam’s next film, but is reluctant to reveal much about the movie. "It’s a really exciting thought for me and Abhishek to be coming together again with Mani Ratnam. All I can say about the film is that it goes into a completely different theme from Guru," said Aishwarya, who turns 35 on Saturday.

"You can’t expect Mani sir to go into the same space twice. Working with him is an exciting thought for any actor. The way he connects to his actors is very clear in the films he makes. He creates magic on screen," she added.

Aishwarya considers Guru, in which she paired with Abhishek, a very precious experience. "It has been a very precious experience on every level, and not just on a personal level. I’d say it was professionally very fulfilling."

The last couple of months have been very hectic for the actress. "I had joined Abhishek in Jaipur where he was shooting for Dilli 6. Then I was with him in Miami for Dostana. I also packed in Cannes and Paris. Life is beautiful. It really is. You know, life is as special as you make it for yourself. Of course, you can’t live your life in a bubble. There are people who want to rain on your parade. It’s up to you how you protect your space," said Aishwarya, who just finished the first lap of the world tour Unforgettable.

She is also doing Shankar’s Robot and has teamed up with Tamil superstar Rajinikanth in the movie. It got delayed because the film’s writer passed away in February this year, thereby pushing the project back by some months.

"After Sujatha sir’s sad demise, the project got delayed slightly. People chose this tragedy as an occasion to spread all kinds of rumours when the fact is death slowed down Robot. But we’re back on track, though now we need to work on a tighter schedule."

Explaining why the film needs extra planning, she said, "Robot has loads of special effects. And the film will be using a lot of crew from overseas. All this needed re-scheduling."

Robot wouldn’t be the first FX-driven film in Aishwarya’s career. "There was Dhoom 2. And right at the start of my career I did Jeans. And that too had very complicated special effects. And I had to do it in Tamil. So I learned a lot during Jeans, as I hope to do during Robot."

Clearing another misconception about Robot, she said, "People seem to think it’s in Tamil and Hindi. But it’s only in Tamil." Tell her she’s now equipped to direct a film, and Aishwarya laughs. "Everyone says that. I don’t know, maybe one day."

© 2009 Khabrein.info