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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is an Indian actress who has appeared in 48 films in five languages, predominantly in Hindi and Tamil. She made her acting debut in 1997 with dual role in Mani Ratnam's Tamil political drama film Iruvar, and her Bollywood debut that same year in the romantic comedy Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya opposite Bobby Deol.[1][2] Rai followed it with a leading role in Jeans (1998), a high-profile Tamil film that was submitted as India's official entry to the Academy Awards.[3][4] She won the Filmfare Award for Best Actress for her breakthrough role in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's romantic drama Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam and starred as a singer in the musical drama Taal (both 1999).[5][6][7][8]

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Rai Bachchan in 2023

Rai had six film releases in 2000, including Kandukondain Kandukondain, a Tamil adaptation of Jane Austen's novel Sense and Sensibility, and Aditya Chopra's romantic drama Mohabbatein.[9][10] In 2002, Rai starred opposite Shah Rukh Khan in Bhansali's period romance Devdas, an adaptation of the novel of the same name.[11] Her performance in the top-grossing production earned her a second Best Actress award at Filmfare.[6][12] In 2003, Rai played a sexually repressed widow in Rituparno Ghosh's Bengali film Chokher Bali, a sleeper hit.[13][14] However, the failure of her two Hindi film releases of the yearDil Ka Rishta and Kuch Naa Kaholed to a setback in her Bollywood career.[15][16] The following year, Rai played a character based on Elizabeth Bennet in a Bollywood-style adaptation of Austen's novel Pride and Prejudice, entitled Bride and Prejudice, a British production directed by Gurinder Chadha.[17] Also in 2004, she reunited with Ghosh to play an unhappily married woman in the drama Raincoat.[18]

In 2006, Rai featured as a thief in the action film Dhoom 2, her biggest commercial success since Devdas.[16] She followed it by playing the leading lady opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Ratnam's drama Guru (2007), a box office hit.[19] Also in 2007, Rai appeared in her first Hollywood productionthe unremarkable The Last Legion.[20][21][22] Greater success came to her (as Rai Bachchan) with the role of Jodhaa Bai opposite Hrithik Roshan's Akbar in the historical drama Jodhaa Akbar (2008).[23][24] Rai Bachchan had five film releases in 2010, including the 250 crore (US$29 million)-grossing Tamil science fiction film Enthiran co-starring Rajinikanth.[25] She also played a quadriplegic's nurse in Bhansali's acclaimed drama Guzaarish.[26][27] After a sabbatical, Rai Bachchan made her comeback with Jazbaa (2015), a remake of the South Korean film Seven Days, and took on the supporting part of a poetess in Karan Johar's commercially successful romance Ae Dil Hai Mushkil.[28][29] She reunited with Ratnam for the two-part period films Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022) and Ponniyin Selvan: II (2023); the former earned 500 crore (US$59 million) to rank as her highest-grossing release and one of the highest-grossing Tamil films.[30]

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Films

More information Year, Film ...
Year Film Role Language Notes Ref.
1997 Iruvar Pushpavalli/Kalpana[I] Tamil [31]
Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya Ashi Kapoor Hindi [32]
1998 Jeans Madhumitha/Vaishnavi[II] Tamil [33]
1999 Aa Ab Laut Chalen Pooja Walia Hindi [34]
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam Nandini Hindi [35]
Ravoyi Chandamama Unnamed Telugu Special appearance in song "Love to Live" [36][37]
Taal Mansi Hindi [38]
2000 Mela Champakali Hindi Special appearance [39]
Kandukondain Kandukondain Meenakshi Tamil [40]
Josh Shirley Dias Hindi [41]
Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai Preeti Vyas Hindi [42]
Dhai Akshar Prem Ke Sahiba Grewal Hindi [43]
Mohabbatein Megha Shankar Hindi [44]
2001 Albela Sonia Heinz Hindi [45]
2002 Hum Tumhare Hain Sanam Suman Hindi Special appearance [46]
Hum Kisise Kum Nahin Komal Rastogi Hindi [47]
23rd March 1931: Shaheed Mannawali Hindi Special appearance [48]
Devdas Parvati "Paro" Chakraborty Hindi [49]
Shakti: The Power Herself Hindi Special appearance in song "Ishq Kamina" [50]
2003 Chokher Bali Binodini Bengali [51]
Dil Ka Rishta Tia Sharma Hindi [52]
Kuch Naa Kaho Namrata Shrivastav Hindi [53]
2004 Khakee Mahalakshmi Hindi [54]
Kyun! Ho Gaya Na... Diya Malhotra Hindi [55]
Bride and Prejudice Lalita Bakshi English [56]
Raincoat Neerja Hindi [57]
2005 Shabd Antara Vashist/Tammana[II] Hindi [58]
The Mistress of Spices Tilo English [59]
Bunty Aur Babli Unnamed Hindi Special appearance in song "Kajra Re" [60]
2006 Umrao Jaan Umrao Jaan Hindi [61]
Dhoom 2 Sunehri Hindi [62]
2007 Guru Sujata Desai Hindi [63]
Provoked Kiranjit Ahluwalia English [64]
The Last Legion Mira English [21]
2008 Jodhaa Akbar Jodhaa Bai Hindi [65]
Sarkar Raj Anita Rajan Hindi [66]
2009 The Pink Panther 2 Sonia Solandres English [67]
2010 Raavan Ragini Sharma Hindi [68]
Raavanan Ragini Subramaniam Tamil [69]
Enthiran Sana Tamil [70]
Action Replayy Mala Hindi [71]
Guzaarish Sofia D'Souza Hindi [72]
2011 Bollywood: The Greatest Love Story Ever Told Herself English/Hindi Documentary [73]
2015 Jazbaa Anuradha Verma Hindi [28]
2016 Sarbjit Dalbir Kaur Hindi [74]
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil Saba Taliyar Khan Hindi [75]
2018 Fanney Khan Sumitra "Baby" Singh Hindi [76]
2022 Ponniyin Selvan: I Nandini / Oomai Rani[I] Tamil [77]
2023 Ponniyin Selvan: II Tamil [78]
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Footnotes

^[I] Rai played dual roles in the film.[79]
^[II] Rai played a single character who has two different names in the film.[80][81]

See also

References

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