From 'Iruvar' to 'Chokher Bali', 8 times Aishwarya Rai Bachchan proved she is a true-blue pan-Indian star
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is one of the very few iconic celebs (the rest being Sridevi and Rekha), who managed to craft a meaningful career across industries and languages and emerge as a bona fide pan-Indian’ star.
Today she is better known for her roles in Bollywood movies such as ‘Jodha-Akbar’, ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam’, ‘Devdas’, ‘Dhoom 2’ etc, however, Aishwarya Rai made her cinematic debut in Kollywood. In the ‘90s she made a formidable actor-director duo with the auteur Mani Ratnam and featured in quite a few memorable movies. Moreover, she also starred in a Bengali movie as well!
Ahead of her 50th birthday, here’s a list of all the non-Hindi movies of the superstar. Most of them have achieved cult status today!
‘Iruvar’ (1997)
Rai made her cinematic debut with this Mani Ratnam masterpiece. The stellar cast included heavyweights from the South industry such as Mohanlal, Revathi, Tabu, etc. The movie featured Rai in a double role- that of Mohanlal’s wife Pushpavalli and Kalpana, an upcoming star (the role was said to have been an inspiration from Jayalalithaa, the actress turned politician). The movie explored the rivalry of two legends who shaped the destiny of Tamil Nadu — N Karunanidhi and MG Ramachandran.
With the dual power of Santosh Sivan’s intricate cinematography and Ratnam’s subtle genius, the audience was enthralled, not only by a tale of rivalry, love, and political turmoil but Rai’s ethereal beauty!
‘Jeans’ (1998)
Much before ‘Nimbooda Nimbooda’ there was ‘Kannodu Kaanbadhellam’! This was the song that showcased Rai as the dancing sensation she is! This S Shankar rom-com starring Prashanth in dual roles is famous for two things — the impeccable discography courtesy of AR Rahman (with songs
