Global girl: The Ash effect

Bipasha Basu had once said that if there’s a face that’s associated with the Indian film industry internationally, it’s Ash. She was the bride who overcame the West’s prejudice, the mistress who had the spice...

She’s got five international films under her belt and more offers coming her way. She’s a regular at international film festivals. She’s the only Indian actress to have a wax figure at Madame Tussauds, and have Hollywood A-list actors such as Will Smith wanting to act with her – yes, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the global face of Indian cinema.

The first international film that Aishwarya did was Bride And Prejudice, in 2003-04. Gurinder Chadha and her husband Paul Mayeda Berges made the movie. When we asked Paul why they cast Ash as the lead, he said, “Aishwarya is an actor first and foremost because she wants to play roles which will challenge her and enable her to grow by showing new complexities. Of course, she’s a star because she is someone who has an extra quality, an ability to light up in front of the camera in a way that is unexplainable. And she fit in perfectly in Lalita’s character.”

Ash’s second international movie was again with the husband-wife duo. And the Mistress Of Spices again found Ash in a lead role. “Everyone knows about Ash’s beauty, but where she shines in Mistress... is in her character’s inner beauty. She wanted to play the role of Tilo as simple and non-glamourous because that is who Tilo is a character that only thinks about others, never herself. I was immensely impressed that Ash understood that right away and really got inside the character,” Paul explains his choice again, adding, “Ash’s very instinctive, she knows what’s right for her character and yet she’s completely open to trying out new things. In Mistress... she has a great chemistry with Dylan McDermott, who is a fantastic American actor (The Practice). Their romance is very nuanced and emotional; it’s on a deeper, more human level than most commercial films. In a romance, what isn’t said is what’s fascinating and Ash is fantastic at expressing her feelings in silence.”

In the meantime, from 2002 Aishwarya’s international fame started building up. A special screening of Devdas was held at the Cannes Film Festival – Ash’s first year at the film festival (She was a jury member at Cannes in 2003 and since then, has been a regular there). Around the same time, she got a place at Madame Tussauds’. “Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a global face and it was our pleasure to have a wax figure of hers at Madame Tussauds,” said Ben Lovett, official spokesperson Madame Tussauds. She was also invited to Oprah Winfrey’s chat show, a part of the Women Across The Globe series and Oprah made Ash teach her how to tie a saree. “We just had three minutes to get ready and it was like a rush hour for the both of us. But when we saw each other in the green room, we both screamed and hugged each other. It was as if we had met after a long time. She is a very warm person and she makes you feel like a family member when you are with her. I loved making her wear a saree,” Ash was to later remember her first meeting with the talk show queen.

In 2007, Jagmohan Mundhra’s Provoked got Aishwarya critical acclaim from around the world. “She was just perfect for the role of Kiranjeet in my movie,” said Mundhra. For Ash, “It was a challenge to act in this movie. I but let myself sink into Kiranjeet’s character and feel the way she felt for so many years,” said Ash.

Producer Pritish Nandy feels that Aishwarya has a lot more potential than what people have seen so far. “Ash has a lot of potential and yes, appeal. However, I still feel that there is more to explore there and I hope that Ash takes diverse roles that exploit her talent completely. She needs to do an out and out comedy.” In 2007, The Last Legion hit the theatres. However, the movie did not do well at the Box Office. But back home in india, the actress did an impressive job – Dhoom 2, Guru, Jodhaa Akbar and Sarkar Raj gave her a clear edge. Here’s Bipasha Basu’s argument as to why Ash is the true global face of Indian cinema, “Aishwarya took six years to make a mark in Hollywood and today she has done Pink Panther. I praise her for the amount of hard work, dedication and patience she has shown. She is the true global face of India.”

And finally, here’s Aishwarya, “Pink Panther was fun! It was a wonderful experience and the cast and crew were great people to work with. The genre of the film is quite enjoyable. And the best part of the story is that it fit my schedule perfectly well,” said Ash, also defending her what critics have called, “two-bit role” in the film. “I haven’t seen Pink Panther 2 but I loved doing the film. It’s a fun film and very obviously it’s an ensemble film. All actors in the film are talented and we have not kept tabs on the screen time and camera presence each of us have. It is, of course, a Steve Martin film.”

Would you call Aishwarya Rai Bachchan a truly global movie star? Why?

Amar Victor