‘Queen of Bollywood’ to land in Hollywood
Noreen Aslam

BOMBAY—India’s top female actress, Aishwarya Rai, is ready to take on Hollywood. In an interview on Sunday’s 60 Minutes, CBS’s Bob Simon talked with Rai, who is 31, discussing her work in India and her aspirations for the future. Rai, who has starred in more than 30 films in India, is about to begin filming The Mistress of Spices. She will also be appearing in Chaos with Meryl Streep and Singularity with Brendan Fraser.
Although Rai has been called the world’s most beautiful woman, she has yet to have an onscreen kiss. Public displays of affection are frowned upon in Indian culture, and onscreen sex is forbidden in India. In the interview, however, Rai told Simon that, as far as taking this step, ‘We’ll cross the bridge when we reach it.’
Rai began modeling part time while she was studying architecture. She stood out in a Pepsi commercial in which she appeared with Indian film star Mahima Chaudhary. Rai soon caught the eye of India’s film industry – known as “Bollywood” - but was determined to pursue a career as an architect.
However, once she was crowned Miss World in 1994, she was inundated with offers that she literally could not refuse. Her first film, Iruvar, was released in 1997. In 1997, she won the Best Female Debutante Award for her role in Aur Paar Ho Gaya. She may be best known for her roles in Jeans (1998) and Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000). In 1999, she won the Filmfare award for best actress for Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Devdas (2002), in which she starred, is the most successful Bollywood film ever made.
In 2003, Rai became the first Indian actor to be part of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival. She was also hired as part of the L’Oreal Dream Team, which includes such famous faces as Catherine Deneuve & Andie MacDowell. She was also listed as one of Time Magazine’s “100 Most Influential People in the World Today” and included on Rolling Stone Magazine’s annual ‘Hot List.” Her first English-speaking film, Bride and Prejudice, will open in February. The film was directed by Bend it Like Beckham’s Gurinder Chadha.
Rai is wildly popular in India, and has an international following. She is so popular that her newly created website, www.aishwaryaworld.com, is frequently overwhelmed with massive traffic. Besides her official website, there are over 17,000 fansites created in her honor. Considering that large Indian population in the U.S. and Canada, Rai will enter Hollywood with a built-in fan base. Will she break Indian taboos and kiss onscreen in a western film, shocking her Indian fanbase? We’ll just have to wait and see.
The World’s Most Beautiful Woman?
(CBS) Who is the most beautiful woman in the world? Half a century ago, Hollywood would have presented her to us. Grace Kelly, Ingrid Bergman or perhaps Elizabeth Taylor.
But today? Correspondent Bob Simon reports the woman who currently holds the title, at least according to thousands of Web sites, Internet polls and even Julia Roberts, is someone you’ve probably never heard of.