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MS WORLD
BINA BAKSHI FROM MUMBAI

Issue : May 05

Sitting on a rouged pink set while she models for a luxury beauty soap, the light-eyed beauty rules the set with a flick of her hand. No smoking, no tea breaks, the lady just floats through the harsh lights and retakes with effortless poise, an expert's command of angles and a powder puff touch-up at intervals. When you're "Ash", a flick of the hand is all you need to rule pretty much the whole world. Ten years after she was crowned Miss World, Aishwarya Rai, 30, is finally poised to live up to that title, literally.

Even as the world is discovering the power and popularity of Bollywood, Ash, as the actress has been monikered by her fans and the media, is returning the compliment, venturing out on to the world stage, staking her claim to global stardom.

She is almost there, already. Last month she rubbed shoulders with Nicole Kidman on the pages of Time magazine, which picked only these two actresses among entertainers and artists for its list of the world's 100 most influential persons today.
And that was just for her achievements in the Indian film industry.
With a clutch of English and Hollywood projects in the pipeline (see box), starting with 
Gurinder Chadha's Bride and Prejudice, set to release this fall, Ash could become India's first
crossover star. That's not just an idle fantasy.

Ash is now represented by the influential William Morris agency in Los Angeles, and her LA-based manager Simone Sheffield is an aggressive promoter of her interests and image.
That's crucial, if she's looking for work in Hollywood and insisting on "no offensive dialogs,   no nudity or revealing clothes that would qualify modesty" as Sheffield puts it. What about kissing?
"Ash's lips are very much wanted here.

Every man in Hollywood wants to kiss her," laughs Sheffield, but cautions, "She has shot a kissing scene already but will not do anything overtly sexual." So that rules out being a Bond girl?
Ash is exasperated with the persistent speculation, saying "the rumor should get a Lifetime Achievement award for having survived for a year now!" (see interview) Although Rai told Time that with her foray into Hollywood she was "leaving her comfort zone, leaving all the adulation to be a newcomer again," this is in line with her evolution as an actress, in a career where she has proved willing to experiment, choosing offbeat roles like that of Binodini in the Bengali film Choker Bali.

The offers from Hollywood, she says, came to her, not the other way round, with things getting more earnest after her appearance at the Cannes film festival for the screening of Devdas. As for a future career plan, she insists:
"My incentive is not making it in another world. I have done it all, been there, done that. I'm content with the work I'm doing now, the roles I'm getting to choose are the ones I love having in my repertoire." That's the standard she applies to Indian film projects as well - lined up for release are Samir Karnik's Kyon! Ho Gaya Na with Amitabh Bachchan and Vivek Oberoi, and Rituparno Ghosh's Raincoat with Ajay Devgan.

She is also starring in Pritish Nandy Communications' Shabd with Sanjay Dutt.
This sense of discipline in selecting projects runs to her daily schedule as well.
"Madam is so disciplined. She goes straight home from the sets, no carousing, no late nights. We get tired but Madam just goes on," marvels her Lady Friday, Sunita, appointed in Rai's service by Subroto Roy, head of the Sahara Group, who has also provided her with two bodyguards. Like Bachchan, Rai is a director with the Sahara Group.

The past few months have been eventful for Ash:
a troubled - and by her own public admission - sometimes violent, relationship and subsequent break-up with fellow actor Salman Khan; a much talked about liaison with the younger, not-so-uber-league Vivek Oberoi; a flap over her participation in The Rising.but you wouldn't know it looking at her.
She explains her secret of maintaining emotional balance in the tumultuous world of showbiz:
"I thank God that I've led a true life and thereby I travel light. I have no luggage."
Take a bow, Ash. The world is your set.

"This is my third World Tour and I'm looking forward to feel that encouragement, the support and love that is palpable when we perform in the States. The positive energy that this connection creates in the auditorium is not because we are stars but because we are their livewire contact with back home." "The Indianness that I see in the Indians abroad is breathtaking. The way they replicate our mainstream culture in any nook and cranny of the world is uncanny because we Indians in India take it all for granted."

"We shot at the Statue of Liberty for Jeans. I was wearing a one-shoulder gown, and we were right in the middle of the ocean, almost being blown away by the winds and the biting cold, when it started snowing. I'd never had snowflakes falling on me ever before. I was definitely not dressed for the occasion, but I just loved it."

"We were doing shows at Atlanta when 9/11 happened. The whole country was
in panic. We were asked to leave Atlanta because of all the important buildings there, and we had to drive through the night for 13 hours to reach Houston. We stayed there for 10 days as no one could fly anywhere. The large Indian community there made us feel quite at home."

"I shot for Aa Ab Laut Chalein in Manhattan. I didn't really experience Manhattan, there just wasn't any time. I didn't ride the subway either though we did shoot at a subway halt!"

"I let life talk to me."

From the girl next door in an early Pepsi commercial in India, to heartthrob of millions around the world, Ash has indeed arrived. There are huge demands on her time, from doing films to endorsing products and attending events. While she took time out for a lengthy interview for mantram with Bina Bakshi in Mumbai, one thing was evident: Despite the trappings of stardom, Aishwarya Rai retains a remarkably sharp and
no-nonsense head on her lissome shoulders. Questions about her career drew the most enthusiastic answers; the Bond rumor drew a weary sigh; and the inevitable queries about Salman Khan and Vivek Oberoi.well, read on!

Are you actively seeking a bigger role in the international film industry?

It's all turned out to 'Am I seeking this and am I seeking that'. But actually it all started with interest that came from across the continent. It came during the Cannes festival and even before. In fact feelers were coming in from the States much before Cannes and Simone (Sheffield) who is now my manager, did suggest the possibility of some serious interest in me if only I'd explore it. I laughed it off thinking she was just being polite and all that. I was skeptical whether we'd be given our due. After
Cannes though, I saw things clearly. When I went there with Devdas the response was electrifying. I enjoyed the response, treasured it and didn't do anything about it.
I was asked to work in a system that existed with regards to appointing an agent and then taking it from there. I've now appointed William Morris as my agents in LA. When I fixed up with them I was here only for a week and yet it snowballed into several meetings. I was meeting studio heads, I met (Robert) De Niro which is fabulous because I've always admired him.

It was very wonderful, he was so normal, so there. He communicated with me as a professional from another country, another culture, another industry. He offered his own agents' numbers so I could get going.he felt I needed to be projected correctly. Once I got myself an agent, it felt like a professional reality. A year later media curiosity has panned my international foray into an ambition of my own. It actually started with interest from abroad. My approach has always been that if 'I've got this opportunity, I think I ought to give it its due attention, explore it.it doesn't come easy, and if things come they come with a reason. I let life talk to me so when it comes a couple of times then it's for a reason and this time it came loud and real.

You were recently defined as the most attractive face by Hello magazine, above Keira Knightley, how does such praise affect you?

Getting placed in polls and coming first is with all due respect a great feeling. I think it's just the love and affection that's doing its rounds for me right now! It's making me feel good. It's a verdict of my fans across the globe.

Getting back to Keira Knightley, Gurinder Chadha gave her international
stature with Bend it like Beckham; you think she can do the same for you
with Bride and Prejudice?

Yeah. She did that, didn't she? Working with Gurinder has been a fabulous
experience, my biggest challenge for us all in the film is that we were a diverse English-speaking people inhabiting her frames and it had to come together all at the same time, cohesively. Although we are all English speaking, the intonations, the nuances were so different, so unlike each other's spoken English, because here we were Indian actors speaking English, American actors and English actors speaking very different English, working in the same film! Three different industries, the manner in which these industries operate is different, so obviously the sensibilities are diverse.we all had to belong to the same film at the end of the day. We had a workshop at the beginning of the film. It was just wonderful, we were all discovering each other, sharing, taking from each other, giving to each other. It was a blast!

How different is it working for a director such as Chadha than it is for
directors in Bollywood? Are the standards different?

I'm not here to draw comparisons or standards. With every director there is a different experience. I'm looking at cinema without any divisional lines, so it's an experience as it always is working for any director.

Pierce Brosnan seems to have taken a shine to you in requesting you to act
in the next Bond film? Is that offer still on the table? If so, when do we
see you as a Bond girl?

This rumor should get a Lifetime Achievement award for having gone on the longest and survived for a year now! A group of business people had come down to Nashik, India, while I was shooting there to present to me a few business opportunities across the board, one of which could have been a Bond film. They claimed to be in
communication with Eon productions. I did not get to meet these people because before the shooting was over for the day I'd had my accident. The press covering the shoot latched onto this itsy info and it was in the headlines everywhere. After the brouhaha had died down I had my agents enquire, they've confirmed that their forthcoming film is in scripting stage, if the script involves an Asian character they would be interested in opening a dialogue with me.

It has also been said, especially in reports in the Indian, press, that since you've been approached by Hollywood, you have become standoffish about offers, you have raised your rates. How do you respond to those allegations?

Allegations seem to be the mood of the day. I wish the media would be more open to communicating rather than alleging. It would create more clarity. 'No' is a difficult answer to take and that is nothing new when it comes to interacting with me. As a female lead I've worked very selectively in terms of quantity. Hence a lot of the disgruntlement probably stems from there. But yes, I will admit, whether or not I'd explored the options of working internationally, over the last couple of years I'd become even more selective in my already slow paced - not that I've had a single day off! - number of films. I can only then make the choices I'd made last year. Choosing a Choker Bali, choosing Gurinder, a Raincoat.that was only possible if I could bring my diary to accept one film at a time. The industry in the West does not appreciate our concept of working on several films at one time. They sign you on in as little as three months from the day they approach you. If you don't have that opening you have to
just keep passing scripts. If you aren't available it's gone. It's a paradox actually.

What have been your most fulfilling roles so far?

Binodini in Choker Bali, Nandini in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, in Iruvar (my first film), I played two characters Pushpa and Kalpana, Jeans, Meenakshi in Kandukondein Kandukondein, Maansi in Taal, Shirley in Josh, Paro in Devdas, Megha in Mohabatein, Lalita in Bride & Prejudice.

Who are your favorite co-stars and directors in the film industry?

No comments.

The Non-Resident Indian audience has ensured the success of many Hindi films in recent years - even some films that have flopped in India. How do you think the two markets are different?

It's a question that could be asked to the audiences abroad, I guess! The recall and emotional quotient are probably the factors that work for films in the NRI milieu and don't work back home.

How does your family take to the sort of fame that you have attracted?

They're very normal. To the point of being almost reactionless!

When you first became Miss World, and had a disappointing start to your film career, did you believe you would be in the position that you are in today?

My approach was always to take what comes. Although Jeans and a couple of other films didn't take off, I was still receiving offers everyday. So either I could base my thoughts on what was happening at the box office or take the offers that were pouring in. That was my reality. I took that.

What aspects of your personality do you think have made the difference between success and failure?

Focusing on the reality and remaining connected to the truth, and being truthful to myself. I travel light.

Any regrets? Like not having pursued architecture?

No regrets. I'm very content. I was stalling for two years.Mr Yash Chopra and Shekhar Kapoor both told me, I could go anywhere, do anything, but in films I will be! Now they keep saying, "Told you so!" I almost did Raja Hindustani; Dharmesh had asked me to sign. He kept calling me Aarti; he was convinced I was the character. I was very tempted myself, having a co-star like Aamir.and Dharmesh was so inspiring and
committed. It seemed a wonderful film to start with. Then I was studying and at the last minute I said no to films and I went for the Miss India contest. I may have had my first film a super duper hit which Raja Hindustani was or I may have been Miss World, which is an experience I treasure.

Are you and Vivek Oberoi really an item? Or is that just another rumor? Or is there someone else?

The media seems to be enjoying the item more than me. I'm happy that's all I would like to say. My personal life is my personal life and the day I want to write an autobio, I'll tell all.

Have you recovered from the trauma of your relationship with Salman Khan?

I thank God that I've led a true life and thereby I travel light. I have no luggage. That's very important because that's very very healing. God's been there. Through all such experiences you discover strengths you did not know existed. You come closer in touch with yourself. It's all in the direction of growth. Life is karma. And we have to go through with it. If you are true, sincere and real in all your experiences, it gives you immense strength.