An Aishwarya Rai in saree can have an aphrodisiacal effect on most men! She is one of her heroines who can carry off most outfits with grace and elegance though a saree makes her look mesmerizingly beautiful and enigmatic. When this green-blue eyed Mangalorean girl featured in a Garden saree commercial and a Pepsi ad in the year 1994 and took the entire nation by storm. With her breathtaking beauty, charm and poise, winning the coveted Miss India and Miss World titles came to her easily. Following her success in tinseltown, she is what every young Indian girl dreams of becoming. Endowed with natural killer looks, she is loved not only by Indians but has an international fan-base. No surprise then that a famous Hollywood director once remarked that he found her ‘obscenely beautiful’!
A timeless beauty, she does not need designer labels to add to her hypnotic charm- what she wears becomes designer! She is a trendsetter-the whole nation wants to emulate what she is wearing. An Aishwarya Rai in saree can make many a heart skip a beat! Who can forget how chiffon sarees became a nation wide rage and sold like hotcakes when she wore them in the Shahrukh-Amitabh starrer Mohabbatein. So much so that a famous Bangalore based saree store went on to the extent of launching his chiffon saree line by the name-Aishwarya Rai Saree collection… Indian audience has always loved her most when she is traditionally dressed- the greatest proof of that being the fact that her biggest Bollywood Hits have been Hum dil de chuke sanam, Guru, Jodhaa Akbar and Devdas.
None of these movies required her to wear itsy-bitsy pieces of clothing or bare her skin, yet she did what no other woman in the industry could have done-left everyone gasping for breath!! Besides having a hugely successful stint with the film world, she endorses numerous brands and has had the honour of being featured on the cover page of the prestigious TIME Magazine.
She has achieved success on many levels which were thought beyond the purview of a Hindi film actress some of which include deserving a mention among the “100 Most Influential People of the World” listed by the Time, being the Indian actress to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003 and also the first Indian actress to be waxed at the Madame Tussauds, London. Considering the magic she creates with this traditional piece of attire, Madame Tussauds also waxed Aishwarya Rai in saree at their museum. Infact, her global appeal can be gauged from the fact that a tulip in Netherlands was named after her in 2005 and she was recently conferred the prestigious Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres).
Apart from her delicate face, Aishwarya has a sculpted body that makes her look like a tempting seductress even when she is fully dressed up. She is a style diva in her own right and has attended many an international award functions, events and festivals in a saree, endorsing the traditional Indian piece of attire at global platforms. She has walked the red carpet elegantly dressed up in a saree more than once and made us all proud of this very Indian piece of ensemble. The aplomb and élan with which she manages the cumbersome six meters of fabric has inspired many a celebrity across our shores to want to try draping one. In a saree, she epitomizes Indian customs and traditions abroad. She has, infact, gifted sarees to the likes of Oprah Winfrey and Madonna and even taught them how to drape one without much effort. How this piece of garment can enhance the splendor and majesty of a woman can become evident on seeing the Aishwarya Rai in saree.
It has been pointed out by a few film critics that after tying the knot with the Junior Bachchan (and leaving many eligible bachelors heart-broken), she has become a little conservative about the way she dresses up and is usually spotted in sarees and Anarkali suits. Even if it was true, this is something her diehard fans would not mind because an Aishwarya Rai in saree still manages to send our crowds into raptures.