Sanjay Leela Bhansali. That is the name if you have not
guessed that already. This sensitive filmmaker had started out by making
Ilhamoshi-The Musical. The masses did not lap it up, but it led to two
consequences. The industry as also discerning film watchers were convinced that
Bhansali had the ability to make good cinema, and that the film's leading
actress Manisha Koirala could be used in roles that were more
performance-oriented. In other words, Manisha could' be made to play characters
that required the ability to emote in films that attempted to use heroines for
purposes beyond the ritualistic, and mostly monotonous, song and dance
routines.
For a while, Bhansali had been thinking big. He was getting
ready to make Hum Dil Chuke Sanam, a love triangle which would establish his
style of filmmaking with a, vivid canvas among the masses once it was released
in 1999. For the role of Nandini, a young girl full of life from a Gujarati
family, Bhansali's first choice was Manisha Koirala. The deal could not be
struck because of dispute over money. The director's second option was Kajol
who turned down the offer. Then he approached Ash for the role of Nandini. The
actress said yes, and what a nod that turned out to be. Perhaps, Ash's decision
to sign the film was destiny's way of doing a good deed to her. After all, she
had not been able to take up quite a few films that had ended up being huge
commercial successes.
HDDCS had every thing going for it. It had stars like Ajay
Devgan and Salman Khan with whom Ash's tempestuous romance was about to begin.
It had some sublime music by Ismail Darbar, superb cinematography by Anil
Mehta, and a story line that was sure to appeal to the masses. For those who
have not seen the film, this superhit is a story of Nandini (Aishwarya) who is
being brought up in a really orthodox environment headed by her patriarchal
father (Vikram Gokhale). Enter Sameer (Salman) who has come to India to learn
music from the father. Not only does Sameer charm the entire family, he and
Nandini fall in love with each other: Once this matter transpires, Sameer has
to leave the orthodox household and go away.
Ajay Devgan plays Vanraj whom Nandini marries, and he sets
out in a quest to track down his wife's lover once he gets to know that she had
married him but was in love with someone else. In a smooth although somewhat
unpredictable climax, Nandini who has to choose between the two men realises
that her future lies with Vanraj and not Sameer. For this role which, although
author-backed, required a top quality performance from Aishwarya, the actress
applied herself to the best of her abilities.
Her dedication was endorsed by none other than the director
himself: "She worked very hard. She is very talented, very spontaneous in
her performance. As an actress, I can vouch that in this film Ash has given a
milliondollar performance. It will change people's perception and opinion of
her." What was equally important was that she and Bhansali were able to
sort out date hassles. As Bhansali was to recollect: "I had a problem with
Ash because RK's Aa Ab Laut Chalen and Subhash Ghai's Taal were on and she had
given some dates to them. But we sorted it out like friends." That the
problems were dealt with smoothly proved to be a boon for Ash, because this was
the film with which she made the industry sit up and take a serious note of her
acting abilities. Most of her cynics were silenced. If not for ever, for a
while most definitely.
Just as Iruvar had acquainted the viewer with Ash's ability
to dance with exquisitely feminine grace down South, HDDCS held the masses
captive nationwide as this spectacular beauty danced to some of the most
beautifully composed songs in Hindi films in recent years. The song and dance
sequences were one of the key reasons why the film made a killing at the box
office and, just like Bhansali the director, leading choreographer Saroj Khan
had nothing but words of praise for Ash.
"From all the top girls I have worked with,"
observed Saroj, who has made many follow her 'footsteps', "and I have
worked with all of them such as Rekha, Sridevi, Madhuri, Hemajl, I would not
say she is different. But I feel she is more dedicated." Khan went on to
add: "Like when we were doing Nimbuda, she laboured so much. She tore her
knees, her legs got bruised, but she did not complain even once. She did not
say even once ' Yeh mere se nahi hoga, aap change kardo' (I can't do this.
Please change it)."
Lady luck chose to unravel her whims before smiling
favourably on Ash but when that happened, this Lady came across as a portrait
of magnanimity. She kept on grinning from ear to ear at Ash in 1999, which can
be rightly described as the year in which she consolidated her position in
Bollywood. Her next offering that very year was Subhash Ghai's Taal and,
although this film did not do as well as HDDCS in India, it went on to do
brilliantly overseas.
About the selection of Ash for the film, Ghai says:
"She was my first choice for Taal. A lot of people had written her off as
an actress but I never go by people's opinions. The character of Taal needed a
girl who could look very vulnerable and raw in the first half and then
transform herself into this ethereal beauty in the second. It was more or less
like Aishwarya's own story - she is also a middleclass girl who went on to bag
the title of the most beautiful girl in the world. Aishwarya is a thorough
professional and I can say this from my own experience. And added to that, her
talent is tremendous. If she gets a good director, she can come up with great
things."
Ghai has some really great memories of a girl who had just
had her first big hit that made many say that she was somebody to look out for
in the future. Going into a flashback mode, the showman remembers how eager she
was to learn from the very beginning of her career. Says he: "That, she
was a Miss World didn't make a difference ; in her attitude at all. I think it
was during the first schedule ~ of the film that she had this very long scene
to perform. ! Actually, we were supposed to do that scene later but due i to
some date clashes, we decided to do it earlier."
"When we came down to doing that scene, I realized ;1
that maybe it would be rather tough on her. We were supposed to do it in a
single take but then I decided to ask ;, Ash if she would be comfortable. And I
was really I surprised when she said that she would do it. I saw that ; girl
rehearse for hours on that scene, not just on her diction !, but also on her
delivery and emoting. She just shut herself ! in a room and went on with it
until she had perfected it. ' And when she came in front of the camera, we all
knew , that she wasn't going to fail us. And that's exactly what
happened." Ash had delivered when it really mattered and, for those who
have followed her career closely, this is possibly that one distinctive
attribute that sets her apart from many of her contemporaries who show a
tendency to slacken and rest on their laurels.
The showman had spotted her perseverance at the very outset,
and he did go on to make a Nostradamus-like prophecy even before the film had
been released: ' "Aishwarya is a great actress. You have to watch Taal to
' believe me! As an actress, I got what I had expected out of her. Mark my
words, she will be the biggest star of the next century." Post- Taal, not
many doubted that she would at least be one of the biggest stars of the new
millenium.
In the Ghai film, Ash played the character of Manasi, a
simple girl who is the daughter of a rural folk musician. The role gave Ash
gave ample scope to set forth her talents as an actress in front of the world.
She also got some great opportunities to manifest novel dimensions of herself
as a dancer while performing with melodies composed by the South Indian musical
genius A R Rahman.
Commenting on her performance in Taal, a reviewer in the
site planetbollywood.com observed:
"(In the film) Aishwarya further demonstrates her radiant beauty, evolving
acting talent, and amazing dancing capability." The key word in this
analysis was evolution, for Taal clearly revealed an actress who had matured
most visibly in a fairly short span.
Veteran actor Anil Kapoor acted with Ash in two films on the
trot: one of them Taal and the other Hamara Dll Aap Ke Paas Hai. The senior
costar reflects on the days when he was signed for the Ghai film: "I was
the last actor to be signed for the film. And I knew it from the very beginning
that the film would be based on Aishwarya. I was looking forward to working
with her because I had heard so much about her. She's one of those artistes who
help you enhance your own performance. There were so many times when we had
scenes together and she would always give me the right kind of cues - which is
so rare. Taal was one of my best performances and a lot of credit has to be
given to Aishwarya for that."
As a person, what did he think of Ash who was beginning to
find her feet in the industry? Says 'Kapoor: "She came across as this shy,
introverted girl but someone who knew exactly what she wanted. I've worked with
many newcomers in my career but nobody as confident and sure as Ash. Maybe it
was the fact that she had already been exposed to so much after winning the
Miss World title had something to do with it."
Where there is a film, incidents are bound to occur.
Incidents of the sort which lead to picturesque memories which an actor who had
been a part of the film can never ever forget in his entire life. Kapoor too
has a really special memory that points to Ash's quest for perfection in no
matter what she does. Recalls he: "Generally, when there's a scene between
two actors, each tends to focus on his or her lines and performances
individually. And there are times when. one tries to upstage the other as well.
I remember this scene that I was doing with Ash where she was supposed to
confront me and it was entirely her scene."
Kapoor goes on to say: "We had a couple of retakes and
then she gave a fantastic shot. But I had not given a pause that I was supposed
to. Now this could have been easily corrected at the editing table and any
other actor in her place would have been just thrilled with a shot like that.
But Aishwarya realized that I wasn't too happy. So she herself insisted on
having another take. I thought that was really great on her part. It's these
small things that make a difference. I mean, it was a very small thing but
still, to think from another actor's point of view is great."
Right from the beginning of her career, Ash had been
choosing roles that weren't exactly predictable. Even Taal was an unusual
choice, since the film despite the obvious trappings of commercialism presented
her sans make up for a major part. But it worked, and enabled her to explain
how exactly she had been approaching her work in the industry all along.
"Within the given parameters that are available to us
in Hindi films, I have tried to be as different as I could have been. Whether
it was Ashi of Aur Pyar Ho Gaya or Pooja of Aa Ab Laut Chalen or Nandini of Hum
Dil De Cliuke Sanam or Mansi of Taal or Shirley of josh" (her release in
2000), "none of them are one-dimensional women." The actress had been
able to prove a point. After two consecutive hits with HDCCS and Taal, she had
made her intention of conquering the world of Bollywood absolutely clear.
Her-flops had been decanted into the backburner of indecipherable prehistory.
All the time, she seemed to be in love with the idea of
surprising her viewers, which is why Mansoor Khan's josh in which she played
the role of Shah Rukh Khan's sister. Dubbed as an Indianised West Side Story by
many, some in the media questioned time and again as to why she took up the
role in josh. After all, she was a top heroine and Shah Rukh, the reigning
superstar which, in Bollywood terms, implied that they should have been the
lead pair in iust about anv movie.
Ash's response? "josh was Mansoor's baby, he cast me as
Shah Rukh's sister in the film and I believed in the role. I was not going to
back out of the film because of the negative fallout it might have had on my
career in the future. And look, finally at the end of the day it has all worked
to our benefit. People have appreciated the film and accepted the character and
that is most important to me." The film was a flop in commercial terms,
but not i' many could ignore that Ash's mindset was different from ; most of
her colleagues when it came to the critical fact of choosing roles.
Some more appreciation was on the cards, and again because
of the very choice of the character in Satish Kaushik's Hamara Dll Aap Ke Paas
Hai, a remake of the Telugu hit i Pelli Cheskundam which starred Uentakesh and
Soundarya in the lead roles. That her performance might be praised ' Ash had
probably sensed, and this reflected in the way she analysed the character she
was playing in the movie: "Today I am really looking forward to this character
I am playing i in HDAPH. The girl is a small-town lower-middle class girl ! who
is a victim of circumstances. It is about how regular people go through
irregular situations in life with as much normality as they can. What is
interesting about this film is that the narrative is not direct, it unfolds as
you see the film. The character is very appealing, very real and that is how I
have tried to portray her.
In the film, Ash who starred opposite Anil Kapoor played the
role of a rape victim who is taken in by the latter, following which the
twosome try to build a happy family with kids that are the consequences of
adultery committed by the hero's father. The subject of the film was sensitive
to say the least, and it struck a chord with the I viewers nationwide. Ash's restrained
performance in the film won her accolades that were really well deserved, and
for many this was the best role she had done in her entire career.
The film was Anil Kapoor's home production, and he agrees
that Ash had been exceptional: "Alhough it was a totally heroine dominated
movie, we were unsure whether Ash would accept it. At that point, she was going
through this phase where she wanted strong characters to prove her acting
potential. That's why she was so happy doing our film. The character needed to
be very warm, genuine, gentle everything that Ash stands for. To date, I think
it is one of her finest performances."
The critical appreciation that Ash received for her
performance in HDAPH proved, once again, that the industry had started taking
her seriously not just as an awesome beauty but also as a performer who could
be expected to deliver in roles that required considerable acting talent. What
she had done in HDDCS, she had done in Taal, and HDAPHwas a case of history
repeating itself. People were beginning to accept that she was a good actress.
Clearly visible were the signs of change in perception.
Down South, Ash had a release in Rajeev Menon's Kandukondain
Kandukondain. The film appeared to have been influenced by the English classic
Sense And Sensibility by the Victorian novelist Jane Austen. This too was a
success, and Ash made her presence felt amidst powerful stars like Mamooty,
Ajithkumar and Tabu.
After the film's success, Ash noted that the two admirable
features of the industry down South were punctuality and discipline. In an
interview to the portal 123india.com, she went on to reveal on a jovial note:
"One thing I must tell you is that after doing films like Iruvar, jeans
and now Kandukondain..., I have become really fluent in Tamil."
Slipshod films like the hugely hyped Dhai AksharPrem Ke did
happen. Then there was Aditya Chopra's Mohabbatein in which not many could
figure out what she was doing: although the death of her character was the very
basis of the film that has a story hinging on a clash of two personalities
(they being Shah Rukh Khan, her lover in the film, who comes to teach a lesson
in love to Ash's dad played by Amitabh Bachchan when the character of Ash is
alive no longer).
A reviewer on a web site observed the nearinsignificance of
Ash's character in a most humorous manner: "There are too many main
characters (eight, by my count, and nine, if you count Aishwarya Rai's role)
and that's far too many." The film was a super hit, but even the greatest
among Ash fans were disappointed with her two-bit role in the film.
Some notable roles. A couple of bad performances in bad
films, particularly Albela which took ages to be made before being released on
April 20, 2001. The film starred Govinda, India's Comic Hero No. 1 for a long
time, and it was definitely expected to deliver the goods at the box office
which it did not. Writing about Ash in this film which looked jaded because of
the long delay, a reviewer on the website planetbollywood.com
noted: "I mean at a some points we have Aishwarya 2000, and at other
points we had Aishwarya 1997, and the former is much better looking than the
latter!" The role in Mohabbatein did not ' do justice to her talents
either, but then she had a string of successes which included HDDCS, HDAPH,
Taal, Kandukondain and, technically speaking, Mohabbatein as well.
Courtesy this track record with a sequence of hits in a
short period, the girl whose films flopped regularly and i not long ago was suddenly the hottest
commodity in Bollywood. She had taken her own sweet time to arrive I but, once
she did, had left her competitors far behind. Big producers wanted to sign her.
Big stars and directors wanted to work with her. On the personal front, life
was beginning to look different for Ash as her relationship with film star
Salman Khan was attracting the attention of news-hounds reporting on the film
industry. Their romance that began during the making of Bhansali's HDDCScan be
easily called the most hotly discussed relationship between two stars after the
Amitabh Bachchan-Rekha romance several years ago. Too much was written about,
and there always seemed that somebody new was in the offing with a guy like
Salman Khan constituting one half of the much-reported relationship.
For the reader of newspapers, there was something to look
forward to just because of the dramatic twists and turns. And the journalist,
well, he kept his fingers crossed with the hope of breaking a new Salman-Ash
story.
