San Jose Mercury News on Aishwarya Rai

San Jose Mercury News on Aishwarya Rai

Great Article by Lisa Tsering today in the San Jose Mercury News profiling Aishwarya Rai. As far as I can remember (please correct me if I am wrong), this is the first--i bet of many-- profiles of Aishwarya written in a major American newspaper. And on the heels of her being on the Time list, and the many crossover films she is participating in, this is only the beginning for her.


here are the first few paragraphs in case you don't want to do the (free) registry online...
THE QUEEN OF BOLLYWOOD IS TAKING ON HOLLYWOOD WITH THREE UPCOMING FILMS

By Lisa Tsering
Special to the Mercury NewsPosted on Thu, Apr. 22, 2004

Aishwarya Rai is the highest paid actress in India and the undisputed queen
of India's ``Bollywood'' movie industry, but few viewers in America have
ever heard of her. That should change this year. In September, Rai -- a former Miss World --
will be seen in a starring role in the Miramax film ``Bride and Prejudice:
the Bollywood Musical,'' from director Gurinder Chadha (``Bend it Like
Beckham'').

She's also signed on opposite Meryl Streep to co-star in ``Chaos,'' a comic
thriller from French director Coline Serreau, and will star in
``Singularity,'' a period drama from Roland Joffe (``Vatel,'' ``The
Mission'').

Right now, Bay Area fans of Bollywood are gearing up for Rai's long-awaited
live appearance in ``Breathless,'' an evening of Bollywood dance and music
at the Oakland Coliseum Arena on Saturday. She'll be joined by 6-foot
heartthrob Hrithik Roshan, former Miss Universe Lara Dutta (now a top-ranked
Bollywood star herself), and other actresses, actors, dancers and musicians.

As her star rises in the West, Rai, 30, finds herself in the position of
representing the Indian standard of beauty to the world. In some ways, she
embodies the ``typical'' Indian woman -- she refuses to kiss on screen and
her date on the Cannes red carpet in 2002 was none other than her mom,
Vrinda.

posted by sajit @ 8:38 PM