Before Aishwarya Rai Bachchan became the global superstar we know today, she started small… really small. Her first three ads earned her just Rs 5,000. Yes, just five thousand rupees! Long before the glamour,
the films, and the awards, this was how her journey in the world of entertainment began.
Producer Shailendra Singh recently shared some throwback memories of spotting young Aishwarya on Marine Drive. He recalled while talking to Siddharth Kannan, “I spotted Aishwarya when she was 18 or 19 at Marine Drive, if I recall. She came to meet Kunal Kapoor and me at 8:30 in the night with her parents. She was just 18 or 19 and she did our first three advertisements for just Rs 5,000. She was first, I think, an extra, tied to a pole in Mukesh Mills for a commercial. Then she did a Ghrit Kumari Hair Oil ad with Malvika Tiwari, and then she did another commercial with Arjun Rampal. This is how she started.”
From those tiny beginnings, Aishwarya’s career took off in a big way. She won Miss World in 1994, and soon became a name everyone knew. She went on to star in iconic films like Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Devdas, Jodhaa Akbar, Guru, Taal, and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Working with legendary directors like Mani Ratnam, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, and Rituparno Ghosh, she proved she could do it all, romance, drama, dance, and more.
Shailendra Singh also praised her personality, saying, “She’s a lovely human being. I’ve known her all my life, supremely dignified. These are the kind of people who should be the voice of our industry. I ask this question very often: Who’s the brand ambassador of Bollywood? Who’s the custodian?”
Back in her college days, Rai was already making waves. She did modelling, starred in a bunch of TV commercials, and even took part in the Miss India pageant, where she finished second. Not long after, she grabbed the Miss World 1994 crown. She made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Iruvar in 1997 and also stepped into Bollywood the same year with Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya. Her first big hit came with the Tamil romantic drama Jeans (1998), which was, at the time, the most expensive Indian film ever. She really hit her stride with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s romantic dramas Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (1999) and Devdas (2002), winning two Filmfare Awards for Best Actress.
Rai has also earned serious praise for her roles in films like Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000) as a passionate artist, Chokher Bali (2003) as a seductive widow, Raincoat (2004) as a woman trapped in an unhappy marriage, Provoked (2006) as Kiranjit Ahluwalia, and Guzaarish (2010) as a caring nurse. On the box office front, some of her biggest hits include Mohabbatein (2000), Dhoom 2 (2006), Guru (2007), Jodhaa Akbar (2008), Enthiran (2010), Ae Dil Hai Mushkil (2016), and the epic Ponniyin Selvan films in 2022 and 2023.
