Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has always been a doting mother and is very protective of her daughter Aaradhya. While she reduced her work output after she tied the knot with Abhishek Bachchan in 2007, the actress took a complete break from movies after her daughter was born. Her last outing before becoming a mother was Guzaarish, which released in 2010.
However, it seems that busy days are back for the actress who made her comeback last year with Sanjay Gupta’s Jazbaa. And although the film only got a lukewarm response at the box office, Ash is back now with her next film Sarbjit, which she just presented at the Cannes Film Festival. We caught up with her on the eve of her film’s release and asked her whether she feels Sarbjit will prove to be a more effective comeback vehicle for her than Jazbaa and also how she’s coping with the strains of being a mother and an actor.
On whether she thinks Sarbjit would have been a better comeback for her, the actress says bluntly, “Jazbaa was a perfect comeback for me. I have never been a person who plans things a lot. I never thought about which film I should debut with after I was crowned Miss World and much the same way I never sat and thought which films I should do after marriage or after having Aaradhya. Jazbaa just happened at that time. I loved the concept, plus there were two phenomenal actors on board — Irrfan Khan and Shabana Azmi. Also, the film’s schedule actually worked out very well with my motherly duties. I used to get enough time to spend with her while driving back home after pack-up. In fact, I agreed to do the film because it wasn’t so time consuming. I am still very happy with the film and I have no regrets.”
The diva has just returned from the Cannes Film Fest where she presented her film Sarbjit. But while the film received much attention at the festival, it was Aishwarya’s purple lipstick that got the spotlight. Her look was talked about a lot in fashion circles and received a mixed response.
Ask the actress about reactions to her experimental look, and she happily says, “Fashion is an art. It may get a good response or it may fail. I was very happy with my look. It was my make-up artist’s decision to make me wear purple lip colour. As far as fashion goes, I have always been associated with it. A lot of times you have seen me wearing something according to an event, but there are times I wear something to change the perception as well. Primarily, I represent a fashion brand at Cannes but I have been lucky time and again to take my films there as well. In the past, I’ve taken Provoked, Choker Bali, Raincoat and Raavan to the festival.”
