THIS actress, who rejected movies with Salman Khan and Shah Rukh Khan, earned Rs 1500 as her first pay in 1992

Before she cast a spell with her beauty, before her Midas touch made its way to Bollywood, this Indian actress was a young hustling model, even back in the 90s, she was turning heads with her earnings. Today, she is among the most bankable stars, has worked with directors like Mani Ratnam. But there was a time she rejected movies with the Khans of the industry - Salman and Shah Rukh both. Perplexed in guessing the name? She is none other than the dangerously beautiful diva Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who, back in 1992, earned Rs 1500 as per her first pay, for just a day’s work!

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made Rs 1500 a day with her first modeling gig

The invoice for her first modeling gig surfaced on the internet a couple of years back. Dated May 23, 1992, the contract was from a magazine catalogue shoot. Aishwarya was only 18 years old back then. She signed this single-page contract that mentioned Rs 1500 a day as per pay.


As the picture of the contract went viral, the photographer of the shoot, Vimal Upadhayay, shared images from a vintage photoshoot. These pictures didn’t only have Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, but also Sonali Bendre, Niki Aneja, and Tejaswini Kolhapure.

Internet reacted

The contract pictures and the images of the actress from the shoot left the internet in a frenzy.

“Aishwarya Rai got paid Rs 1,500 for one day's work in 1992. I wasn't even born then!” - wrote an internet user with the image of the contract, while a Redditor highlighted who, back in the 90s, Aishwarya was already a big deal by stating, “In 1992, my father's income was Rs 8,000 per month, which was sufficient to run our house of 5. This is massive money for a day's work for an 18-year-old.”

“One day? My father was working for a month for this,” mentioned another user.

From photoshoots to filmshoots

After working as a model for a couple of years, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan tried her hand at an international beauty pageant and emerged victorious. After the big win, she made her way to the cinema with Mani Ratnam’s Tamil movie ‘Iruvar,’ and then made her Bollywood debut with ‘Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya.’

Her breakthrough in the industry happened with Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.’ She starred with Salman Khan in the movie, and their chemistry won hearts. Their off-screen chemistry also made headlines back in the days; however, after their breakup up the two never worked together. Even when Sanjay Leela Bhansali offered her ‘Bajirao Mastani with Salman Khan, she refused the offer.

Another big-budget movie that she rejected was Shah Rukh Khan starrer ‘Happy New Year.’ Though she starred in multiple movies with SRK, she reportedly said no to ‘Happy New Year’ because she wasn’t paired with her husband, Abhishek Bachchan.

Both these movies then went to Deepika Padukone, who earned both critical and commercial success with these films.

What is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan doing now?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was last seen in Mani Ratnam’s ‘PS II.’ Besides, she is often seen gracing several fashion events, along with her doting daughter Aaradhya Bachchan. An update on her next film is awaited.