Posted on 02/06/2005 7:26:36 AM PST by presidio9
Aishwarya Rai is accustomed to adulation. After all, the emerald-eyed actress is India's most famous film star and the object of some 17,000 Web sites. Since being crowned Miss World in 1994, she has made more than 30 movies and become a spokesmodel for Coca-Cola, L'Oréal, Longines and DeBeers Diamonds. Celebrated for her grace and glamour, she's been described as the most beautiful woman in the world by none other than Julia Roberts.
But even Ash, as she is known, was amazed by the attention she received while making her first English-language movie, "Bride & Prejudice." The ebullient, all-singing, Bhangra-dancing Bollywood-inspired take on Jane Austen's novel "Pride and Prejudice" opens Friday .
The scenes filmed in Amritsar, a dusty provincial city in Northern India, were mobbed by locals. "People just came in throngs and stood around," says Rai, reached on the phone in Bombay. "It was very overwhelming for my co-stars."
"We thought we'd need a few extra police because of the crowds that wanted to see her," adds director Gurinder Chadha, whose "Bend It Like Beckham" was a smash hit. "We weren't expecting that we'd need 400! We were like, 'You've got to be kidding!'"
So dense were the masses that Chadha had to whittle her wish list of images. "I would have liked to have shot Ash on the back of a rickshaw," she says, "but there was no way we could shoot with her actually on the street. And we couldn't do the big wide shots because there were so many people who thought Ash might be there. She's so huge, and there are so many people in India and they just wanted to come and gawk."
While Rai is recognized wherever she goes in Bombay, she can easily pass incognito in Los Angeles. Truth is, most Americans have never heard of her. With the release of "Bride" and more than five English-language movies in the pipeline, that's destined to change.
The big question is whether Rai, who has never even kissed a co-star in an Indian movie, will do so in a Western movie (the closest she got in "Bride" was nuzzling co-star Martin Henderson).
"We don't want to offend our audiences, so there's embracing but no kissing," explains Priya Joshi, an associate professor of English at the University of California at Berkeley who's writing a book about popular Hindi movies. "But these are hyper-sexy films; they're not prudish. Hindi film is famous for its dance sequences and they're extremely suggestive in a non-raunchy way. A wet sari has become the way in which female flesh is displayed."
MIXING WITH MERYL
"I do recognize that this is a huge topic of discussion," admits Rai, who has said she is willing to discuss kissing scenes if the director considers them "imperative." "I don't believe in shedding my clothes to get attention or to create media buzz or to apparently make a movie more watchable. I look at it that you really work within your comfort zone and that's where conviction comes in. It's really about the roles themselves."
Rai recently wrapped "Taj Mahal: The Great Indian Experience," India's first IMAX film. She played Queen Mumtaz Mahal, for whom the extraordinary monument to love was built. Upcoming Hollywood parts include a battered prostitute in "Chaos," with Meryl Streep, and a mysterious spice shop owner in "Mistress of Spices," which will mark the directorial debut of Paul Mayeda Berges, Chadha's American husband. She has also committed to Roland Joffe's "Singularity," with Brendan Fraser; "Windfall," about 1984's devastating industrial disaster in Bhopal, India, and has tentatively agreed to star in "Ladies Night."
Last month, Michael Douglas traveled to Bombay and talked to Rai about working with her in his upcoming adventure flick, "Racing the Monsoon." "I'd be happy to be a part of the project," says Rai, who has just a hint of an Indian accent. "They've been really sweet and respectful. They said you have a right to see the final draft of the project. I guess they'll go through the formalities."
Despite her many Western roles, Rai has no plans actually to move to Hollywood. "Home has been Bombay, and I don't see any reason for any kind of permanent shift," she says.
Born in 1973, Rai grew up in Bombay, the daughter of a teacher and a chief marine engineer in India's merchant navy. With her hypnotic green eyes, honey-colored skin and heart-shaped mouth, she turned heads even as a little girl. In college, she landed her first modeling assignment, for Palmolive. The gorgeous teen quickly became one of India's most famous faces, representing several top brands. She appeared in her first movie in 1991.
At 21, she won the Miss World pageant and shortly afterward pledged her remarkable peepers to science. Her rise coincided with that of "New Bollywood," a generation of actors, writers, producers and directors determined to make better movies than the stereotypical, corny and often repetitive Hindi fare.
"Production values have improved, settings have improved and the stories are more Western," notes professor Joshi.
ROMANTIC TROUBLES
Out of this creative shift was born "Devdas," Sanjay Leela Bhansali's heartbreaking musical drama about a romance destroyed by the caste system. In 2002, Rai won best actress at the International Indian Film Academy Awards for her portrayal of the lovelorn heroine.
In many ways, Rai is like any Western businesswoman. She works around the clock, helps negotiate her deals and has added "producer" to her résumé. At 31, she's unmarried, but has had several highly publicized relationships with Bollywood heartthrobs, including Salman Khan, a hunky action hero who was reportedly abusive to her, and Vivek Oberoi, an actor several years her junior. In one unsavory incident that thrilled the press, Khan made 41 threatening phone calls in one night to his rival Oberoi.
Despite the gossip, Rai remains a dutiful daughter who lives with her parents. In that way, she is similar to Lalita Bakshi, the character, based on Austen's Elizabeth Bennet, whom she plays in "Bride & Prejudice."
"I do definitely relate to her as someone who takes pride in being Indian in roots, culture and tradition," said Rai, who gained 20 pounds to make Lalita look more like a regular Punjabi girl. "She's strong-willed and yet emotionally vulnerable."
If Rai is vulnerable, she doesn't show that side to the public. A savvy operator, she joined Hollywood's powerhouse talent agency CAA and refuses to discuss her private life.
If all goes as planned, the so-called Queen of Bollywood will become, as Indian director Mira Nair puts it, "the next Penelope Cruz." The Spanish star, however, does sex scenes.
"I'm willing to put money," says professor Joshi, "on the fact that Ash will kiss when she comes to Hollywood."
Careful Julia, look out Nicole
BY CHRISTOPHER PACETTA
Will Aishwarya Rai, Indian cinema's reigning queen, conquer America? We asked members of New York's Indian community what they think.
"Everybody loves Aishwarya. She's beautiful and a great actress, like Kate Winslet," said Nazma Newaz, 45, a clerk at an Indian fashion store in Jackson Heights, Queens. "I'd like to see her star in some Hollywood movies."
Sunny Mann, a 24-year-old video store manager, echoed the sentiment: "She's the best actress in Bollywood. She'll do well over here just on her beauty alone. She has those amazing eyes."
"Did you see Aishwarya on the '60 Minutes' show?" K. Baarikh, 52, asked. "She's the No. 1 beauty in the world. If she comes here it would be very nice." But some people were not as enthusiastic about Rai's impending arrival on American screens.
"She's just an okay actress, and I don't think she's that attractive," said Rishit Mehta, 28, a chef from New Delhi. "Ash can dance and sing all right. But for me, it has to be Sushmita Sen. She's much more talented and a lot nicer looking."
Jackson Heights resident Aruna Narayan, 32, said of Rai: "She's not popular because of her acting, it's just her looks. She can be irritating when she giggles and sighs all the time. I don't think she'd do that well in movies here."
Barisa Sahel, an 18-year-old student from Jackson Heights, said: "In looks, she's the top Bollywood actress, but in acting, she's not the best." But when asked about the impact Rai's unconventional beauty might have on the often Anglocentric standards of Hollywood, Sahel noted: "She definitely has a different look than what you'd normally see. It would be great if she became recognized here. It would be a nice thing to happen to the whole of Asia."
Flushing resident Shumy, 37, however, feels this is unimportant: "She does not need Hollywood to launch her career. Even if she isn't accepted here, she is still thebiggest actress in the world."
Indians are hot too ping
<< The big question is whether Rai, who has never even kissed a co-star in an Indian movie ... >>
In an Indian movie this beautiful lady [Yummy yummy yummy!] even Bhangra Rocks that booty a bit -- let alone kisses anyone -- and there are 200,000 extra births a bit later this year!
Whooo! Absolutely beautiful.
60 Minutes did a feature on her a month ago, and I haven't had a good night's sleep since.
(whatever *hubba hubba* is in Indian)
if she were president, she'd be Babe-raham Lincoln
She giggle and sigh her little heart out and I would not find it annoying.
I guess outsourcing Hollywood is not all bad... *g
I met 'Ash' at a party in Mumbai 4 years ago while I was a guest of some industrialists. Her beauty is more than skin deep. She has an aura that defies explanation. For the first and only time in my life was speechless.
Have you tried exercise and cold showers?
future Bond girl
why? This is the GOOD stuff.
That's what I'm talking about. She's got something going that defies explanation.
She's human anime! < |:)~
Hah! ROTFLMAO!
Whatever. the chick's go it gowanon.
You're nuts. The comparison is not even close.
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