Aishwarya Rai
THAT FAMILIAR
TOP-OF-THE-WORLD
FEELING AGAIN!

Not so long ago, she was voted the most promising debutant by the SCREEN-Videocon Awards jury. The initial flops notwithstanding, and despite the tag of `Icicle' given her by sniggering critics, she has begun living up to the promise. And how! If her emotive performance in Aa Ab Laut Chalen is any indication, the former Ms World could soon be scaling breath-taking heights. She sure has some exciting releases coming up, Subhash Ghai's Taal - The Rhythm, Mansoor Khan's Josh, Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, a Rajiv Menon Tamil flick and Raj Santoshi's next, among them. So the going's good for Ms Champagne Eyes. And could soon get even better..

THE sun beats down relentlessly as we trudge up to Filmistan Studios, Goregaon, Mumbai. Ash's driver pops out of her blue Mazda to lead us to the comforting coolness of her make-up room where we find the doe-eyed beauty trying out a snazzy Neeta Lulla creation. The torquoise-gold ghaghra-choli ensemble enhances her exquisiteness. Once she snuggles into the snug raiment, she calls for a tender coconut and insists we share it with her. A refreshing sip later, we're ready to chat up the former Ms World, as she sits applying a pearly shade of nailpaint on her dainty toes. And never mind the oh-so-propah Ice-warya image she's trapped in, she's every bit an exuberant chatterbox, as we discover:

However did you manage to scrape your foot that way (there's an angry red welter on her foot)?

Oooh... I got ugly feet to live with now. I was doing a knee slide for Sanjay Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam for a Shaadi number. Sanjay and I wanted to bring back the charm of old dances like Vyjayantimalaji's - there was a lot of drama and classical movements in them. We said let's go all out and Sarojji was charged up, too. She was back in full form breathing fire. It's a very fast number and we had to wrap it up in five days. On the second day, Sanjay said let's do a knee slide and in my enthusiasm I decided to go in straight for a take. My knees had become pulp from my previous days' dancing where I had to climb down the stairs while dancing, which meant going down on the knees every other second. Then came the knee slide, I jumped without caring for the consequences and came up with a scraped foot. However, we managed to get it right in three shots and it was a great high for me. This is the toughest dance I've ever done. I have danced in fever, in rain but never experienced anything like this earlier.

Industry sources have tipped off Bhansali's film as a novel experience. What's it really like?

It's got beautiful moments with realistic emotion. It is romance with a difference. The first time Sanjay came to me, he had a bound script. It was shot in copy-book style but we all have made our contributions.

What kind of roles are you being offered these days?

Strange as it may sound, coming from an industry with a history of glamour, none of the roles are out and out glamorous. I don't know if those are the roles I gravitate to. Or perhaps, the filmmakers want to portray me in realistic light. I still haven't done the customary song-n-dance routine yet.

Au Pyar Ho Gaya... showcased all that a newcomer could do - laugh, cry, dance, hum. In Iruvar Mani gave me two characters to play - one was a totally washed out, conventional Brahmin girl while the other a young ambitious girl trying to break into the movies. Shankar's Jeans was essentially a family film where I had to play-act. In Aa Ab Laut Chalen I play a girl who's rooted in her values, an underplayed character who doesn't need to shout to be heard. So it isn't glamour but the soul of a role that matters.

Speaking of Aa Ab Laut Chalen, are you relieved you finally have a hit to your credit?

It feels good, yes. But fortunately for me, b-o results have never affected me in terms of the kind of film offers or the kind of pubilc response I was getting. There's never been any rejection. I have always got positive, encouraging vibes. After the success of AALC nothing has changed on the personal level, no body has seen me doing a back flip or a somersault. But yes, I do find everybody around screaming "Finally you have a hit" or "Her lean phase is over", blah blah. It just makes me smile to know how much success matters to people.

I am more happy for the Kapoors that the film has worked - I really wanted the film to do well for Chintuji, the Kapoors and the banner. I am extremely fond of this family and consider myself part of it. The film was made with plenty of love and conviction.

So how does it feel to go down in the annals of cinema as the latest RK heroine?

Besides the banner aspect, which obviously is a matter of prestige, it's been a pleasure becoming a part of the Kapoor family. I dote on Krishna aunty - she has a great sense of humour, she's so collected, spirited - she's the epitome of love - any girl would like to be like her at that age.

Is she a decision maker on the sets as well?

Not in the least. The Kapoors are together and behind each other but never in the way. It's each one to his baby and each one minds his own.

How about the director? People say Rishi's quite a whip-cracker?

Here's a filmmaker with a lot of conviction, who has a mind of his own. He wan't marshmellow-minded when it came to making the film. He makes no compromises on the product. For a debutant, he was very focused. There was work and play - so there was no dull boy on the sets.

As the film was heading towrds completion, we would tease him - giddy days are arriving, can you feel the contraction and all that. He would say, "Just let me walk, I don't ask for much." But as the reports started coming in, he would say "The baby's not just walking but running!"

Has the success of AALC been reassuring to you as an actress?

What's been reassuring is the discovery and re-discovery of the fact that I have what it takes. I got encouraging reviews for Iruvar, considering it was my first film, considering I was nobody's dicovery, considering I haven't been trained for this field and considering my modelling background. My motto is - focus on the craft and your career will happen.

Were you surprised to see Suman Ranganathan splashed so prominently in the pubicity posters of AALC?

Not at all, we knew what our respective roles were right from the outset. So there was no area of discomfiture between us. We were absolutely fine. There was no tension - no such thoughts, no bad vibes.

How do you evaluate yourself as an actress today?

I see myself growing, which keeps me focussed and positive. I can see myself growing evry single day but that doesn't mean I have reached even remotely close to perfection, but I am getting there. I have been very happy with my roles so far, it can only get better. What's reassuring is the filmmakers' faith in me. That's why I have never felt the downside of the b-o results with any of my previous films. The filmmakers, veterans and writers of the industry have supported me from day one and I say, how much better can it get? A hit can get me some more mag covers, it can make me everybody's darling, can get me a higher price or it can get me good banners and filmmakers to work with - I have already got all that. So now I work at a slower pace, doing one or two films at a time. I never bite more than I can chew.

Thank Subhash Ghai for not changing your name to M something and for praising you to the skies about that deadly dance you did for Bhansali. He tells us he's deglamorised you to showcase your histrionic ability.

How come he never tells me all that? As for the M factor, he's had his way calling the character Manasi. We discussed and worked on the look, I am more than glad to go without lipstick because I realise I have a full mouth and even a bit of colour makes me look all made up.

How does it feel under Subhash Ghai's wings?

Subhash Ghai is a very big name in the industry. It's of high value to be working for his banner. I know how much it matters to be a part of his films, so I was absolutely elated when he chose me for Taal. At that time he was talking to me about Shikhar, then he decided to make Taal. He kept everybody guessing on purpose as to who the heroine would be, when I knew all along I was doing Taal.

But I have never been awestruck by him. He's a complete filmmaker who's in the know of every aspect of filmmaking. Cinematography, dialogues, music - he's into it all. He knows the medium completely. He strikes a fine balance between drama and realism. His films are like dreams rooted in reality.

What about the music of Taal - The Rhythm. Have Rahman and Ghai worked some wonders together?

They have. While we have a master like Rahman creating the music, there is a lot of Subhashji in it as well. Their union has made the music that much richer. Whether it's music or visuals- his films have that grandeur, that operatic feel. It's cinema in its complete definition.

And then you are playing Shah Rukh's sister in Josh. How did Mansoor convince you to do that?

I play Shirley, Max's twin sister in Mansoor's film - that's how I feel about it. People were skeptical even when I played Mohan Lal's heroine in Iruvar just because he's way senior to me. But the role demanded it.

It isn't as if people are shying away from pairing me romantically opposite Shah Rukh. I was offered Badshah and Shashilal Nair's Shah Rukh starrer, Karan had also spoken to me about Rani's role - I didn't have the time. I have just signed Raj Santoshi's next film starring Aamir and Shah Rukh.

You had to let go of Sooraj's and Indra Kumar's films because you didn't have the dates. How do you find the time to take a dip down South then?

South India has responded very well to me right from the outset. I have offers galore from good filmmakers. They come to be me with great scripts not just riff raff.

Rajiv Menon had offered me Sapne before anybody else. But since producers AVM wanted to wrap it up within three months, that too as a bilingual, Rajiv advised me to take up Mani's Iruvar, instead. I had promised Rajiv I would be there any time he had a role for me. He came up with this Tamil film in which I play Tabu's younger sister. Luckily I had the dates as my Josh schedule got cancelled.

You are getting adept at the sister act now.

It's a fabulous role, Tabu plays the quieter elder sister while I am the chirpy chhoti behen. It's about differences of opinions and finally, how they come to terms with them. The star cast includes Mammootty, Abbas and Ajith.