Ashiwarya - a' Kyun??

Aishwarya Rai, the gorgeous beauty of bollywood, has given indication of not doing the intense love story opposite handsome hunk John Abraham in Sriram Raghavan's upcoming project, being produced by Rohan ...

Aishwarya, Abhishek to marry next month

Two of Bollywood's top stars - Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan - will wed next month, but the marriage celebrations are likely to be low-key since Bachchan's grandmother is unwell, news reports said Tuesday. Rai, a former Miss World, and Bachchan, son of Hindi film icon Amitabh Bachchan, were engaged at a private ceremony in January.

The wedding is expected to take place on April 20 at the Bachchan residence in India's entertainment capital of Mumbai, the NDTV network reported.

"The families met and the decision was taken yesterday. The wedding will be a small private affair with only close family and friends in attendance," an unnamed source told the PTI news agency.

Meanwhile, the Times of India daily reported that only 15 close family and friends were invited as the groom's grandmother, Teji Bachchan, was admitted at a hospital.

The date, April 20, was chosen as it was free of "doshas" or bad combinations, an astrologer, Naveen Khanna, was quoted as saying.

Abhishek Bachchan, 31, proposed to Rai, 33, in New York after the premiere of their film Guru in early January. Their engagement was announced by the senior Bachchan on January 14.

Rai is considered one of the most beautiful women in the world and endorses several international brands while Bachchan, one of Bollywood's hottest actors, was named the sexiest man in Asia in a survey conducted by a British newspaper last year.

Both of them have been linked to other Bollywood stars in the past. Bachchan was earlier engaged to film actress Karisma Kapoor for a short while. Rai has been linked to actors Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi.

no stop for her career

Barely hours after the Abhishek-Aishwarya engagement announcement there's widespread speculation about the marriage date and her post-marriage plans.

"Will Ash continue to work after marriage. Didn't Jaya give it all up at the peak of her career to be Mrs Amitabh Bachchan?" one producer on the verge of signing her for a big action thriller seemed to express the entire industry's anxieties.

However all speculation regarding Ms Rai's future in the movies can be laid to rest. The Bachchans have no intentions of stopping their bahu from working.

Says a source close to the family. "There's absolutely no talk of Aishwarya giving up her career. After Guru she has entered a new performing peak. This is the time when she needs to build on her actor's image. There's absolutely no hint of a closure to her career after marriage, whenever that happens."

Continues the source, "In fact 2007 is one of Ash's busiest year in years. Apart from two international projects, The Last Legion and Provoked, which are ready for release she's shooting for Ashutosh Gowariker's Jodha-Akbar. Right after that she goes into Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar 2, followed by a film for Karan Johar's production house. Both feature Abhishek Bachchan opposite her. It would make a lot of practical sense for Ash to do her films with Abhishek. That doesn't mean she'd keep herself exclusively associated with Abhishek professionally. In fact Ash is about to ink another project for producer Gaurang Doshi to be directed by Shriram Raghavan which stars John Abraham. All these will keep her busy till at least the middle of 2008," ends the source.

The marriage date which will be worked out only after Jaya and Abhishek return from the shooting of Goldie Behl's Drona will in no way impede Aishwarya's career plans.

"But Ash is completely one with whatever Abhishek's parents decide. She's leaving all her post-marriage decisions to them. In fact she has been going by their wishes for some time now, from the time the two got serious about one another," ends the source.

Aishwarya is my son's choice & our choice too

On the morning after his son Abhishek Bachchan's engagement to Aishwarya Rai, Amitabh Bachchan is busy taking congratulatory calls and receiving guests at his residence Jalsa. Jaya and Abhishek Bachchan had to rush for the shooting of Goldie Behl's Drona.

Overcome with joy, Amitabh says, "Abhishek and Aishwarya were in Canada and the USA for the premiere of Guru. On Saturday night, after the premiere at New York, he proposed to her and she accepted. He called me, took my blessings, and then they were on a plane to Mumbai."

The association was solemnised on Sunday evening. "Every father wishes for his children to marry and settle down in life, and I am no different. It's an extremely happy moment when children decide to settle down. After my son and Aishwarya returned from Toronto and New York, we did a small shagun at her place."

The wedding date hasn't been decided yet. "They are all out of town. Abhi and Jaya left this morning for Rajasthan for Goldie's film. Ash is shooting in Karjat for Jodhaa-Akbar. Her father is also out of town and once they all come back, we shall sit and discuss how, when and where."

1. Big B is most happy with Abhishek's choice of life partner. "Aishwarya is my son's choice and our choice as well, and we are very happy with that. She's a simple, traditional and a home-loving individual, warm and endearing. Her inner beauty is far greater than her much-renowned outer beauty. Abhishek's choice shall be our choice and our happiness," he says.

news

News for
Aishwarya Rai

Johansson: 'Because I'm Worth It'
5 January 2006 (WENN)
Scarlett Johansson has signed a multi-million dollar deal to be the new spokesmodel for French beauty giant L'Oreal. The Lost in Translation star, 21, joined L'Oreal only weeks after her two-year contract with Calvin Klein fragrances ended. Johansson will be seen experimenting with different hair colours in the ads for L'Oreal's new line Hip High Intensity Pigments. Johansson enthuses, "It's wonderful to be working with L'Oreal, a company that has celebrated independent women for years. I'm very excited to be part of this campaign, which is modern and fashion forward." Johansson joins Beyonce Knowles, Natalie Imbruglia, Eva Longoria, Aishwarya Rai, Claudia Schiffer, Andie MacDowell and Milla Jovovich at L'Oreal.

Supporters and Opponents of Indian Actor Clash at Theater
21 July 2005 (StudioBriefing)
Supporters and opponents of Indian actor Salman Khan squared off against one another at a theater in Patna following publication and broadcast of alleged conversations between Khan and actress Aishwarya Rai in which he boasted of underworld connections and threatened her. The Indo-Asian News Service reported Wednesday that when a group attempted to shut down a screening at the Regent Theater of Khan's latest movie, Maine Pyar Kyun Kiya, they were greeted by another group of fans, one of whom shouted, "Let anyone try and touch Salmanbhai's picture. Rivers of blood will flow if someone touches the film." Theater owner Suman Sinha told the wire service, "I don't know where the boys showed up from. Within minutes they cordoned off the lobby of the theatre, shouting pro-Salman slogans. ... It was a strange and bizarre phenomenon. In my 25 years of experience in this business I have never seen this happening before." Meanwhile published reports in India said Wednesday that the movie was pulled from a theater in Kerala on Monday following protests by "saffron activists." (There was no explanation of the term.) It was the third Indian theater to pull it since the controversial conversations between Khan and Rai were disclosed last week. Khan has said that the tapes were doctored. However, police officials said today (Thursday) that Khan's phone had been tapped and that it had sent tapes of the Khan-Rai conversation to a lab for analysis.

Actor Caught on Tape Boasting of Ties to Indian Mafia
20 July 2005 (StudioBriefing)
Prosecutors in Mumbai (Bombay), India are expected to step up their investigation of the alleged inroads organized crime has made into the Bollywood film industry after newspapers and television reported on telephone conversations in which Salman Khan, a leading Bollywood actor, boasted of his ties to the underworld and threatened actress Aishwariya Rai, his former girlfriend. "The underworld keeps tabs on you," he is heard to remark at one point on the tape. Khan has claimed that the tape of the conversations was doctored. Rai has not commented on them. Reporting on the scandal, the London Financial Times commented that it was unlikely that the tapes would disrupt the film business in Mumbai. Pooja Shetty, a director of Adlabs Films, told the newspaper: "In the past investors have asked us about the industry's flirtation with the underworld but at the end of the day the only response is to show them your balance sheet."

Indian Director Turning Austen Story Into a Bollywood Musical
3 November 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Indian director Gurinder Chadha (Bend It Like Beckham) has told the French news agency Agence France Presse that she aims to popularize Indian films throughout the world with a Bollywood version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. "The characters in the film are all the same," she told AFP. "It is just set in an Indian environment. I have just given Indian names to the artists who have acted in the film rather than the names that are written in the novel. ... The only liberty that I have taken in the film is to include Bollywood songs." The film stars former Miss World and top Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai in her first English-language role.

Ryan and Soderbergh To Judge at Cannes
17 April 2003 (WENN)
Actress Meg Ryan and director Steven Soderbergh are joining the panel of judges at the Cannes Film Festival next month. They join veteran French actor Jean Rochefort, actress Karin Viard and Italian writer Erri De Luca on the nine-strong panel, headed by Gallic director Patrice Chereau. Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai joins the panel as the first Indian actress on the Cannes jury. The prestigious Palme D'Or award will be announced at the festival's closing ceremony on May 25. Among films being premiered at this year's event is The Matrix Reloaded and Penelope Cruz's new French-language movie Fanfan La Tulipe. The second film in the Matrix thriller trilogy will be shown out-of-competition on May 15.

Ryan, Soderbergh Among Cannes Jurors
17 April 2003 (StudioBriefing)
Director Steven Soderbergh, whose sex, lies and videotape won the Cannes Film Festival's coveted Palme d'Or award in 1989, and Meg Ryan are among the nine jurors who will select this year's winners, organizers announced Wednesday. The jury will be headed by Patrice Chéreau, whose film La Reine Margot (Queen Margot) won the Jury Prize at Cannes in 1994. Others included in the panel are Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai, French actors Jean Rochefort and Karin Viard, Italian writer Erri De Luca, Bosnian director Danis Tanovic, and Chinese director Jiang Wen. Cannes president Gilles Jacob is scheduled to announce the titles of this year's competing films next Wednesday. The festival will run May 14-25.

Chaplin Silent Film to Close Cannes
9 April 2003 (StudioBriefing)
A newly restored version of Charlie Chaplin's Modern Times -- his last silent movie, even though it was made in 1936 -- has been selected to close the Cannes Film Festival on May 25, festival officials announced Tuesday. Meanwhile, the Times of India reported today (Wednesday) that Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai has accepted an offer to sit on this year's Cannes jury. There has been widespread speculation recently that she has been offered a starring role in the next James Bond film.


'Pride and Prejudice' to Become Bollywood Extravaganza
19 December 2002 (StudioBriefing)
One of Bollywood's most in-demand stars, Aishwarya Rai, Miss World of 1994, has agreed to play the heroine of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice in a Bollywood adaptation of the novel, the Times of India reported today (Thursday). According to the newspaper, the film will be directed by Gurinder Chadha, who helmed the British box-office hit Bend It Like Beckham earlier this year. Chadha said that she plans to shoot the film in Britain, the U.S. and India and expressed delight that Rai had agreed to star. "You know how it is with Bollywood stars," Chadha told the Times."It is so difficult to get dates for them because they are working on so many films at the same time."

India To Produce Imax Film About The Taj Mahal
3 April 2001 (StudioBriefing)
A group of Indian Internet tycoons based in Silicon Valley have agreed to put up $10 million to finance an Imax feature film based on the building of the Taj Mahal that will star former Miss World, Aishwarya Rai, the Times of India reported today (Tuesday). Director Ganapathy Bharat told the newspaper that the film will be the biggest movie production in India since Richard Attenborough's 1982 Oscar winner Gandhi. He said that he expected the film to be released in July of next year.

Tax Authorities Raid Indian Movie Stars
28 September 2000 (WENN)
Indian tax officials have raided the residences and business premises of top Bollywood movie stars and their associates for the second day running yesterday. The raids in Bombay and elsewhere began on Tuesday morning and targeted, among others, stars Aishwarya Rai, Urmila Matondkar and Rani Mukherjee. P.K. Sarma, director general of investigation at the tax office in Bombay - India's film capital, says, "The raids are continuing. A team of 150 income tax officers is conducting the raids." Officials say 15 bank lockers have been sealed by the raiding teams and a large amount of cash and several documents relating to investments overseas were seized. Movie stars in India are rivalled only by cricketers in the celebrity stakes.

Richard Gere Honored By Bollywood
1 June 2000 (WENN)
Actor Richard Gere has been honoured by India's Bollywood film industry for his work in promoting Tibetan freedom from Chinese rule. The Pretty Woman (1990) star was greeted by thousands of representatives from the Indian film industry when they presented him with their MAN OF CONSCIENCE Award in New York on Saturday. Gere says, "I see my life very much entwined with India. My conscious awareness began in India and this is something I can never forget. The only way I was able to meet the Dalai Lama was through the kindness of the Indian people. " Other stars honored at the ZEE GOLD BOLLYWOOD AWARDS include Anil Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai.

awards nominies

Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2003 Won Popular Award Actress in a Leading Role
for: Devdas (2002/I)


2000 Won Award for Artistic Excellence Actress in a Leading Role
for: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)


Filmfare Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2005 Nominated Filmfare Award Best Actress
for: Raincoat (2004)


2003 Won Filmfare Award Best Actress
for: Devdas (2002/I)


2001 Nominated Filmfare Award Best Actress
for: Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000)

Best Supporting Actress
for: Mohabbatein (2000)


2000 Won Filmfare Award Best Actress
for: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)


Screen Weekly Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2005 Nominated Special Award Jodi No. 1
Shared with:
Vivek Oberoi


2003 Won Screen Best Actress
for: Devdas (2002/I)

Special Award Jodi No. 1
for: Devdas (2002/I)
Shared with:
Shahrukh Khan


2001 Nominated Screen Best Actress
for: Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai (2000)


2000 Won Screen Best Actress
for: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)


1998 Won Screen Most Promising Newcomer - Female
for: ...Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya (1997)


Washington DC Area Film Critics Association Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2005 Nominated WAFCA Award Best Breakthrough Performance
for: Bride & Prejudice (2004)


Zee Cine Awards
Year Result Award Category/Recipient(s)
2005 Won Critics Choice Award Best Actress
for: Raincoat (2004)


2003 Won Popular Award Best Actress
for: Devdas (2002/I)

True Indian Actress

2000 Won Popular Award Best Actress
for: Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)

Lux Face of the Year

filmography of beauty doll

Self - filmography

1. "Aspekte" .... Herself (1 episode, 2006)
... aka Kulturbericht (West Germany)
- Episode dated 29 September 2006 (2006) TV Episode .... Herself
2. Bollywood Queens Vol. 2 (2006) (V) .... Herself/Various characters
3. "The Oprah Winfrey Show" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)
... aka Oprah (USA: short title)
- Episode dated 24 April 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
4. "Late Show with David Letterman" .... Herself (1 episode, 2005)
... aka Late Show Backstage (USA: title for episodes with guest hosts)
... aka The Late Show (USA: informal short title)
- Episode dated 8 February 2005 (2005) TV Episode .... Herself
5. "Koffee with Karan" .... Herself - Guest (1 episode)
- Episode #1.4 (????) TV Episode .... Herself - Guest
6. Bollywood Remixed - Das indische Kino erobert den Westen (2004) .... Herself
7. From Bollywood to Hollywood: The Making of 'Bride and Prejudice' (2004) (V) .... Herself
8. "Tinseltown TV" .... Herself (1 episode, 2004)
- Episode dated 7 February 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
9. "60 Minutes" .... Herself (1 episode, 2004)
... aka TV Land Legends: The 60 Minutes Interviews (USA: rerun title)
- Episode dated 2 January 2004 (2004) TV Episode .... Herself
10. "Comme au cinéma" .... Herself (1 episode, 2003)
... aka Comme au cinéma: l'émission (France: long new title)
... aka Comme au cinéma: le magazine (France: long new title)
- Episode dated 20 May 2003 (2003) TV Episode .... Herself
11. Bollywood Sirens: Aishwarya's Greatest Hits (2003) (V) .... Herself (various characters)
12. 48th Manikchand Filmfare Awards 2002 (2003) (TV) .... Herself (Best Actress)
13. Bollywood im Alpenrausch (2000) (TV) (uncredited) .... Herself