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Aishwarya Rai (Kannada:
ಐಶ್ವರ್ಯ&
#3262; ರೈ, Hindi:
ऐश्वर्य&
#2366; राय; born on November 1
1973) is an actress from India. Born in Mangalore,
in the South Indian state of Karnataka, she is a
Miss World beauty contest winner, a professional
model, and an actress in Bollywood and Hollywood
films. 

Rai has appeared as a model in many Indian fashion
magazines, including the Indian Vogue
(magazine)|Vogue; she is currently featured in
international ads for L'Oréal Paris, De Beers
Diamonds, and Coca-Cola. 

She won the Miss World title in 1994 at the age of
20.  On the crest of the ensuing publicity, she
became an actress, appearing in Mani Rathnam's
Iruvar in (1997).  Her earlier films did not win
at the box office; critics said that she couldn't
act, and merely posed, as if she were still
modeling. Her first big success was Sanjay Leela
Bhansali's movie Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Later
successes include Taal and Devdas. Rai has also
acted in films for the Tamil
language|Tamil-speaking regional film industry,
such as Kandukondain Kandukondain, and for the
Bengali language|Bengali film industry, in Chokher
Bali. 

Devdas, in which Aishwarya joined Bollywood
superstars Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was a
lavishly-produced mega-hit. The film attracted
overseas notice as well; it was the first-ever
Bollywood picture to receive a special screening
at the Cannes Film Festival.  

Ms. Rai thus became a world-wide star rather than
just a Bollywood heroine. In 2003, Rai was a
member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. 
In 2004, she was chosen as one of Time
(magazine)|TIME Magazine's "100 Most Influential
People in the World."  Rai was the subject of a 60
Minutes profile on January 2, 2005; the profile
called her "The Most Beautiful Woman in the
World."  A month later she appeared on the Late
Show with David Letterman, and on April 25, 2005,
she was featured on The Oprah Winfrey Show|Oprah's
"Women Across the Globe" segment.  A wax figure of
Rai is on display in London's Madame Tussaud's wax
museum.

Gossip columns had frequently buzzed with news
that Rai was being considered for high-profile
Hollywood productions, but the job offers never
materialized. Then British director Gurinder
Chadha hired Aishwarya to play the heroine in
Bride and Prejudice, a Hollywood-funded but
Bollywood-ized version of  Jane Austen's classic
novel, Pride and Prejudice. Rai is now said to be
signed for another Hollywood movie, Rolland
Joffe's project Singularity. She will play
opposite Brendan Fraser. She is also said to be
slated for a Bollywood film to be called Provoked,
to be directed by Jas Mundhra. 

==Filmography==

Aishwarya's films are in Hindi, except where noted
below.

*1997 : Iruvar by Mani Ratnam (in Tamil
language|Tamil) (Telugu language|Telugu  title:
Iddaru)
*1997 : Aur Pyar Ho Gaya by Rahul Rawail 
*1998 : Jeans (movie)|Jeans by S. Shankar (in
Tamil language|Tamil)
*1999 : Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam by Sanjay Leela
Bhansali
*1999 : Aa Ab Laut Chalein by Rishi Kapoor
*1999 : Taal by Subhash Ghai
*2000 : Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai by Satish
Kaushik
*2000 : Mohabbatein by Aditya Chopra (cameo)
*2000 : Dhai Akshar Prem Ke by Raj Kanwa 
*2000 : Josh (movie)|Josh by Mansoor Khan
*2000 : Kandukondain Kandukondain by Rajiv Menon
(in Tamil language|Tamil)
*2000 : Sanam Tere Hain Hum by Jayant Paranji
(special appearance)
*2001 : Albela by Deepak Sareen  
*2002 : Devdas by Sanjay Leela Bhansali
*2002 : Hum Kisise Kum Nahin by David Dhawan
*2002 : Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam by K.S. Adiyaman
(special appearance)
*2002 : 23rd March 1931 : Shaheed by Guddu Dhanoa 
*2002 : Shakti (movie) by Krishna Vamshi (special
appearance)
*2003 : Kuch Na Kaho by Rohan Sippy
*2002 : Nee Kidappen Njan Adippen: The Power by
Krishna Vamshi 
*2003 : Dil Ka Rishta by Naresh Malhotra
*2003 : Chokher Bali by Rituparno Ghosh (in
Bengali language|Bengali)
*2003 : Khakee by Rajkumar Santoshi
*2004 : Kyun...! Ho Gaya Na by Samir Karnik
*2004 : Bride and Prejudice by Gurinder Chadha (in
English language|English)
*2004 : Raincoat (film)|Raincoat by Rituparno
Ghosh
*2005 : Shabd by Leena Yadav
*2005 : Bunty Aur Babli by Shaad Ali (special
appearance)
*2005 : The Heart of India by Ganapathy Bharat (in
English language|English)
*2005 : Mistress of Spices by Paul Mayeda Berges
(in English language|English)
*2006 : Provoked (film)|Provoked by Jagmohan
Mundhra (in English language|English) (filming)
*2006 : Dhoom 2 by Sanjay Gadhvi (filming)
*2006 : Saamna by Rajkumar Santoshi (filming)
*2006 : Singularity_(movie)|Singularity by Roland
Joffé (in English language|English)
*2006 : The Last Legion by Doug Lefler (in English
language|English)
*2006: "Chaos" by Coline Serreau (in English
language| English)

==See also==

*Indian actress image gallery

== External links ==
*http://www.aishwaryaworld.com/ Official Website
*imdb name| id=0706787| name=Aishwarya Rai
*http://www.mtnl.nl/read/2702 interview (video)
with Aishwarya Rai at IIFA Amsterdam
*http://www.askmen.com/women/models_150/169c_aishw
arya_rai.html Ask Men Profile
*http://www.aishwarya-forever.com/ Fan Site 
*http://aishwarya-rai-bollywood.blogspot.com/
Aishwarya Rai Galleria
*http://www.piccas.nl/?Aishwarya%20Rai Aishwarya
Rai at Piccas
*http://www.desifans.com Desi
Fans:http://www.desifans.com/blogs/category/bollyw
ood-stars/aishwarya-rai/ Aishwarya Rai Site
*http://aishwaryarai.ewestpost.com/ Aishwarya Rai
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