5 times Aishwarya Rai Bachchan impressed in Tamil cinema

Today is the birthday of one of the most influential actresses of not just Bollywood, but Indian cinema as a whole, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The gorgeous actress turns 43 today, but her ethereal beauty still captures the hearts of millions across the country. However, she is not all about beauty, for she is also a brilliant performer and has amazing screen presence and impeccable aura. Of course, Kollywood deserves the credit for launching Ash in the world of cinema and in her career spanning almost 20 years, she has worked in five Tamil movies, where she never failed to impress. Let us see which movies they are…

Iruvar

In this Mani Ratnam film, which was also her debut in cinema, she essayed a double role, as Pushpavalli and Kalpana. Her character of Kalpana was loosely based on the chief minister of Tamil Nadu - Jayalalitha in her heyday. Although she was impressive as a performer, she was not well-versed with Tamil at that point and faced some flak for it from the critics. However, everyone realized with ‘Iruvar’ that this former Miss World winner has some real talent.

Jeans

Ash came back stronger than ever in Kollywood with the Prashanth starrer ‘Jeans’ in 1998. She played Madhumita, who accompanies her grandmother to the United States to get her treated for a serious ailment. In this romantic drama, Aishwarya was one of the best parts of the film. She was really praised for her acting as well as dancing skills in the Shankar film. What was most impressive was the fact that she actually worked hard on her lines in Tamil and dubbed her own dialogues and aced it. In a way, she silenced her critics who were critical of her dubbing skills in ‘Iruvar’.

Kandukondain Kandukondain

The Rajiv Menon film had an ensemble of big actors like Mammootty, Ajith Kumar, Abbas and Tabu, but Aishwarya still managed to leave a mark in this romantic drama. The beautiful actress played the role of Meenakshi, a village girl who is in a love triangle of sorts involving Mammootty and Abbas. While Mammuka loves her truly, Abbas cheats her and she comes to realize who actually matters to her. Ash had already picked up her acting game with ‘Jeans’ and was becoming a popular name to reckon with. ‘Kandukondain Kandukondain’ added to her popularity in K-town.

Raavanan

‘Raavanan’ portrayed Aishwarya in one of her strongest roles. She played Ragini, wife of a police officer who is kidnapped by Veera. In a way, her role was synonymous to that of Sita in Ramayana. However, instead of playing a damsel in distress, she portrayed a fearless woman who is not intimidated by her kidnapper. As the movie progresses, she brings about a positive change in Veera. Many critics lauded her performance in the Mani Ratnam film and called it her most genuine role till date.

Enthiran

While many actresses still dream of working with Rajinikanth, Aishwarya actually realized this dream with Shankar’s ‘Enthiran’. Even though her role was not that impactful and it was Thalaivar’s show all the way, no other actress could have held her own screen presence opposite the Superstar. There were a few scenes in the movie where she deceives the rogue robot Chitti by faking romance which were quiet impressive. ‘Enthiran’ was the last Tamil movie for the former Miss World and the audience still awaits her return to Kollywood. Hopefully, their wishes will come true soon.