Often touted to be the wold’s most beautiful woman, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has left dropped jaws in her wake at the Cannes film festival this year. Posing, as a flurry of photographers clamour to take her picture, the 43-year-old actress has been a picture of poise in front of the cameras.
But Aishwarya, who landed in Cannes alongside her five and a half year old daughter, Aaradhya, says she was surprised to see her own little daughter striking a pose for the shutterbugs.
“At the airport (as she was departing) there are some pictures of her that have the gesture of her saying no,” she narrates to us over video call. “I asked her ‘what were you doing, waving out?’ She told me ‘I was saying no, no photos. I was telling them bas, bas please.’ It was so cute! She has kind of seen that around as well. Suddenly, I didn’t even realise, she also smiled and posed for one or two pictures.”
The doting mother cannot be more pleased about the way Aaradhya has been growing up. “This kind of spontaneous naturalness is lovely. I’ve been very particular that Aaradhya evolves, and develops her own personality, and she finds her own calling in this gift of life,” she gushes.
But is there anything in particular that Ash ensures Aaradhya does or does not? “There’s no instruction, or directions; there is guidance, there is value-based upbringing. Natural upbringing is all I know, and I have known that from my parents. I will pass that on to her.”
Born into a family of superstars, Aishwarya says that her daughter Aaradhya seems to have imbibed the qualities of being born to parents in the movie business, and that she is well aware of their profession.
“She’s aware,” asserts Ash. “She knows our profession, and she sees our posters and pictures all over the city, or on buses, and bus stops. I don’t have to sit down and talk to her about what her mother does.”
Her daughter is a normal girl, smiles Aishwarya. “Even though she’s born to a lady in showbiz, I have kept it as simple as I could up until now,” she says. “This time, I joked with her teachers. I said I’m going for the weekend to play fancy dress for Aaradhya. So she’s trying to see me in princess gowns. I’m doing normal mommy-daughter things with her, but it’s worth every minute if I make time with her.”
At the film festival, Aishwarya imbibed the role of a modern day Cinderella in a stunning ensemble; a beautiful gown in her 16th appearance at Cannes. The L’Oréal Paris ambassador kept her hair loose, falling on her shoulders, owning the red carpet with her ethereal beauty, grace, and inimitable style.
Never hesitant about experimenting, Aishwarya takes even trolls in her stride, when they come at her. “If it gets nasty, I’m only human,” she sighs. “Having said that, I’ve never made it the fulcrum of my existence. I know for a fact that they will never do anything that will make me physically uncomfortable. If I’m uncomfortable, I won’t go that way in front of the world. So there’s no question about not being in sync.”
She adds, “I’m realistic, and recognise that there will be opinions. But there’s so much love out there. It’s wonderful; all your (the fans’) love only protects me.”
The actress relived her first Cannes appearance, by presenting Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s 2002 movie Devdas yesterday at the outdoor cinema. Excited, she says, “The first time was surreal. To have actually come on like that, and to get a standing ovation for the film was amazing. I was very touched when the brand informed me that the festival was coming up with this idea of actress associated with L’Oréal presenting their cinema — which has been a great memory at the festival itself!”
