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She has been part of films by such illustrious directors such as Mani Ratnam, Paul Mayeda Berges, Rituparno Ghosh, Ashutosh Gowarikar, Gurinder Chaddha, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, but critics still say she can't really act, and is not much more than an ornamental element in their films!
Is she plain lucky, or does Aishwarya choose her roles well? She has definitely done interesting and strong roles, roles that any actor worth her mettle would kill to do.
Every time Aishwarya does one of these very interesting roles, we wonder, if another actor could have done it more convincingly.
Lets start with her role in Ram Gopal Varma's Sarkar Raj. We'd think she acted better than she normally does - by maybe not acting too much and remaining her own self in most scenes. Ramu probably figured that's the way to make it work with Aishwarya. Just keep things simple, don't ask her to emote too much or show too many expressions.
She still did a very decent job in the film, she was restrained, did not over act, and looked every bit like a tycoon's daughter.
But did she add anything extra? Does any character gain anything extra if it's played by her?
Well, the character becomes beautiful by leaps and bounds, but depth of personality, spontaneity, layers of emotions, sometimes just saying it with a touch or a look in the eye... well, that does not happen when Aishwarya plays a character.
Jodhaa Akbar was Ashutosh's dream project. We know how much attention he pays to detail, he knew what he was doing when he chose Aishwarya to play the role of Jodhaa. Aishwarya as the Rajput queen of Akbar looks beautiful and also fits the role. The chemistry between Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya was marvelous in the movie, and that contributed greatly to the success of the movie. This was the second time that they have been paired together after the tremendous success of Dhoom 2.
One gets the feeling that 'technically' she fits every role that she is taken up for, but somewhere in the performance she falls short, and so her roles don't really become memorable roles of cinema. Visually she fits the image of a queen, she has the physical attributes; the emotional quotient falls short.
Another interesting film starring Aishwarya is Jagmohan Mundhra's Provoked. The film is based on the true story of Kiranjit Ahluwalia who has to move to London after marriage and then deal with physical and mental abuse by her husband. She tolerates it for ten years and one day something snaps inside her and she sets him on fire. She is sent to prison and strangely finds her freedom and salvation there. Her case is taken up by an NGO that fights domestic violence against women and after three and half years in prison she is set free. This role gave her tremendous room to grow as an actor.
Jagmohan Mundhra has said that a lot of good actors could have played the role of Kiranjeet, but none would have made the film as popular and talked about as Aishwarya did. He feels she is a brand name, who can make a film interesting internationally.
One film we truly liked Aishwarya's performance in is Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Maybe that is what a great director can do; transform a sprightly young girl in the beginning of the story to a demure, somber married woman by the end of it. We don't think her talent has been used better by any other director; maybe by Mani Ratnam in Guru, but even that performance was not comparable to the one in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam. Not surprisingly, she won the Best Actress Award for Devdas, another Sanjay Leela Bhansali film.
We can't yet deny that Aishwarya adds a lot of interest value to a film project. There must be so many people in our country and maybe even abroad who just can't take their eyes off her and so have to come and watch her movie.
Her addition to the cast of any film generates a lot of media buzz. So, end of the day, Aishwarya is a highly saleable actor in the industry. And that is really what matters here.
Her film has to sell, the distributors won't blink an eye-lid before buying a film which features her. So, we have to grudgingly admit, Aishwarya does rule the industry.
For all those other amazing actors who get side-lined by her, well, the world loves a beautiful thing. And Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is beautiful, the whole world admits to that!
Her becoming a part of the most illustrious family in the industry only adds to her image and her supreme position.
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