It has been ages since I wrote a celebrity-driven blog and
there have been a number of reasons why I have refrained from writing about
films or filmi personalities for some time now. Anything about Kangana Ranaut
seems stale the next day as she has already said something new to add to the
burgeoning controversy that has become her life. I have nothing new to write
about people like Aamir Khan who continue to hold up the baton of ‘good content
can make good cinema’ in an otherwise heavily commercialised (read formulaic)
world of Bollywood. And no new stars have particularly piqued my curiosity to make
interesting observations about them after say my last post on Vikrant Massey.
So
I am myself a bit amused writing this post today about a Bollywood diva who I
am not even personally a fan of! I have been following her journey in glamour
from the time she won the Miss India first runner up crown only to win the
country its much-coveted spot under the sun as Miss World in 1994. With beauty
pageants being the rage at that time and none so venerated as the Miss Universe
and Miss World titles, the 22 year old Aishwarya Rai let none of the glory that
Sushmita Sen won with the Miss Universe crown faze her own victory the same
year. She was toasted as the new ambassador of the nation while her beauty was
extolled with copious amounts of newspaper and magazine odes dedicated to her
mersmerising green-grey eyes, her boundless grace and elegance and a cultivated
smile that she knew when to flash and at whom.
Miss Rai carried the pride of being the new representative
of India’s bountiful beauty and intelligence as a 21st century woman
with aplomb. She soon became the idol every teenager wanted to grow up to
emulate and parents were suddenly naming their daughters Aishwarya after her,
so that they might inherit some amount of the fame she claimed. Solidifying the
trend of beauty pageant winners going on to become Hindi film actors, Aishwarya
soon set a fine foot in to the industry in the year 1997 with the much-hyped
Aur Pyar Ho Gaya opposite an equally fresh off the oven Bobby Deol who had made
his debut with the forgettable Barsaat two years before her. It probably helped
that Gupt that till date remains one of his biggest hits released in the same
year as Aishwarya’s debut film but it didn’t help Aur Pyar Ho Gaya from sinking
without a trace at the box office. The film may have not won her any great
acting plaudits but it got her registered as someone who was here to make a
mark. Pity that the film was a weak canvas for a competent actor who could have
done well under a more capable filmmaker- as evident in Mani Ratnam’s Iruvar
which released the same year but had a small audience thanks to its regional flavour.
Since then, in a career rich with as many hits as misses,
Aishwarya has often earned herself rave reviews as well as blistering brickbats
as both critics and audience have taken turns to applaud or pan her depending
on each of her performances. Even after establishing herself as someone who can
hold her own against reigning superstars like Shahrukh Khan and Hrithik Roshan
in films like Devdas and Jodha Akbar respectively, there have been people who
questioned her presence on the jury of the Cannes Film Festival every year and
chose to instead deride her fashion sense with every appearance on the red
carpet. In fact, to summarise Aishwarya’s journey under the spotlight so far,
her enamouring appeal has brought her down as much as it has catapulted her
standing as a hot-selling star. It has made her constant fodder for those who
choose to never look beyond the external lure of her face. Her flawless
appearance has overshadowed the efforts to come across as a serious actor, as a
skilled diplomat when it comes to international affairs and as a smart and savvy
celebrity woman who has known how to balance her professional and personal life
pretty stably, in spite of a highly torrid affair with a superstar before
marriage and her subsequent entry in a renowned A list sasuraal.
So on her 44th
birthday, I choose to be nice and trace how the very essence of her popularity-
her looks have gone a long way in making some of her films memorable so far. Instead
of the flaky veneer we assume make up and styling to be, in Aishwarya’s case it
has gone on to add oodles of oomph to her personality and the character she
essayed in each of these films, proving that the grooming of a star often has a
great impact on her overall appeal among the masses.
In order of release then, here’s a list of five films that
have made the alluring Aishwarya’s star quotient scale heights few have been
able to measure up to so far:
Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999)- Still raw and hungry for
recognition as a full-fledged actor, Aishwarya discovered a new school of
acting under Sanjay Leela Bhansali and so beautiful was the transformation in
to her role as Nandini that we were forced to nod in approval. The plunging
necklines, the backless cholis, the ethnic jewellery and the very Indian make
up were carefully drawn up to bring alive a sprightly and gorgeous Gujarati belle
who knew her mind. The voluminous ghagras were replaced by body-hugging sarees in
the second half of the film, draped to show off a mannequin-like fragility under
the cold demeanour of a woman married off against her wishes. Minimal jewellery
accessorised her person in the latter half as she pined for her lover and
struggled to understand the motivations of her husband and yet the intricate
detailing with a juda pin or the sole focus on her mangal sutra acted as part
of the endearing character that she played.
Devdas (2002)- Her next outing with Maverick Bhansali showed
a natural progression in confidence. Although trolled for not being able to
bring out the simplicity of a Bengali lass in a British era-based Kolkata,
Aishwarya infused her own delicate vulnerability to the role of Paro as she
essayed the complex transition of being a humble, passionate lover to a wealthy,
married landlady. Considering nothing in an SLB film is short of grand, she
managed to outshine the classic and more glamourous appearance of Madhuri Dixit
as Chandramukhi with her swan-like stance, matching steps with the senior and
more talented actor literally and figuratively. She managed to not get buried
under the weight of the heavy zaree-laid sarees while nursing a broken heart
and voicing her pain at her lover’s tumultuous destruction.
Dhoom 2 (2006)- Giving her traditional couture some rest,
Ash got in to urban street style mode with this Indian spin off on an Amreekan
flavoured cop-crook drama. She had the overtly sexy Bipasha
Basu to contend
with for top honours but even with her apparently demure personality, she
managed to steal the attention of the audience with her leggy footwork,
flirting with dramatically revealing bikini tops and mini skirts. With a
wardrobe flavoured with a spicy Latino lilt, she managed to shed the ‘desi’
avatar and don a more millennial-worthy western chic look, complete with an
Angelina Jolie style pout and (ahem) lip lock with the equally sizzling Hrithik
Roshan.
Jodha Akbar (2008)- Two years later, she was letting Dhoom 2
become history for her fans with her complete U-turn as Jodha opposite Hrithik
as the formidable Akbar Badshah. In a role
where she was to look as breath-taking as she was to seem bold, this Rajput princess convinced us how the mighty Mughal emperor may have fallen for her. With costumes that could suit royalty and jewellery that flaunted old world charm, she looked as comfortable as Jodha as she had as the city-bred Sunehri in Dhoom 2.
Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016)- And just when we were beginning
to write off her sojourn as an actor to look out for after motherhood, she came
out all guns blazing with her turn out as Saba, an Urdu shayari spewing poetess
settled in Vienna. With her flowy trench coats and slinky gowns, she rocked the
role of an older but heart-wrenchingly attractive lover who could reign in the
lost and lonely Ayan Sanger. Her exclusive shoot with Ranbir for the film where
the two seem comfortably intimate with each other may have set tongues wagging
in a country unfamiliar with married, older female actors oozing so much raw
sexuality, but fans weren’t complaining. The film was a hit, everyone who had
anything to do with it went home happy and Aishwarya managed to even win the
critics with most adjudging her the most palatable part of the film.
Considering her years in tinseltown, Aishwarya is now
familiar with what efforts must be endured in the green room to look like a
peacock every time she struts out, and I am sure she is not done reinventing
herself yet. At 44, that is more than you can say for most actors her age so
here’s toasting a new era for Indian women beyond 40, stay haughty or get
naughty but never let the curtains roll down for a time of rediscovery has just
begun!
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