Aishwarya Rai surprised us when she decided to act with Ranbir Kapoor in Karan Johar’s Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. We’d have to give it to Aishwarya Rai! She’s handled her success, motherhood and her comeback so efficiently! Aishwarya belongs to the new generations of actresses who have refused to quit acting and ‘settle’ down after their marriage. For many years it was the unofficial norm for successful heroines to refrain from their acting career after their wedding, but now things are changing and these changes have been gladly welcome. Aishwarya Rai who was one of the first heroines to make a comeback after her pregnancy, made an impact with Jazbaa where she played the role of a lawyer in search of her kidnapped daughter. In her next film Sarbjit, she packed a punch of emotions playing the role of the sister of the infamous icon Sarbjit. In Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. She was seen romancing Ranbir Kapoor in many intimate scenes. The movie was a roll-coaster of several inter-tangled relationships with Aishwarya in the midst of it. It is a very bold move from Aishwarya’s part to act intimate with a hero who is nearly 10 years younger than her.
Her family (Amitabh, Jaya and AbhishekBachchan) however was not too happy with this and even skipped the many premiers of the film. But at the recently held 22nd Kolkata International Film Festival, Senior Bachchan gave a speech on how the shifting portrayal of female characters in the movies is related to the rights and social progress of women in the country. In the said speech, he drew instances from Indian cinema and spoke about the changes shown in women and their relationship with their home, their position in a relationship, sexual exploitation, women in education and in politics.
While citing examples ranging from Nita, from Ritwik Ghatak’s classic Meghe Dhaka Tara, to Rosy played by Waheeda Rehman in Guide and Tabu in Haider, Mr Bachchan had a few good words to say about his daughter-in-law as well. He said that the character of Saba in Ae Dil Hai Muskil, played by Aishwarya, turned the tables on men.