Shahrukh Khan with Juhi Chawla: The original pic and the OG fake

This image, well, part of this image went viral in the early 2000s - except without Juhi Chawla. 

Some clever clog replaced the face of Juhi with Aishwarya Rai and somehow, that awful fake pic went viral. 

But I remember the image from a Cine Blitz cover shoot and thought well...why? 

Lovely Juhi, also a Miss India like Ash... deserves her flowers. And fame. And wow vast fortune! 

Trending pic of Hrithik Roshan and Aishwarya Rai: Minor detail: Its fake!

At the premiere of Drona back in 2008, Aishwarya Rai stunned on the red carpet in a peacock blue shoulder-less gown where the iconic Indian beauty looked absolutely ravishing. 

Seen here with Hrithik Roshan, two of the most photogenic, meant-for-the-big-screen cine legends seem to be looking into each other's light eyes... Ah if only.

But of course, as anyone remembers, this did not happen. The original pic, Abhishek Bachchan was holding on to his new wife Ash, Hrithik Roshan did not attend that movie premiere, and this entire image is fan fic. 

God I hate AI.... 

Aishwarya Rai's classic dance pose

Aishwarya Rai, 26, in Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai.

Released on 25 August 2000, it was a hit at the box office. Made on a budget of around ₹9 crore, it grossed approximately ₹30.26 crore in India, making it one of the higher-grossing films of 2000. Some trade reports called it a "hit," though a couple of sources described its performance as "average" overall. It performed well enough to be considered successful commercially. Post the summer of success of 1999, she was unquestionably the top star of her time and easily one of the busiest phases of her career as that year alone, Ash appeared in six films that year, including 

Hamara Dil Aapke Paas Hai

Mohabbatein

Dhaai Akshar Prem Ke

Kandukondain Kandukondain (Tamil)

Josh

and the much-delayed Albela. 

Aishwarya Rai received nominations for Best Actress for her performance (playing a rape survivor) at several major awards, Filmfare Award for Best Actress (2001), Star Screen Award for Best Actress, Zee Cine Award for Best Actress, Bollywood Movie Award for Best Actress. She didn't win any but was perhaps too busy to even notice. Fellow model turned actress Sonali Bendre won Best Supporting Actress at the Star Screen Awards for the film. 

Personally, not a huge fan of the romantic action-drama (a remake of a Bengali film) co-starring Anil Kapoor and Sonali Bendre. It was directed by Satish Kaushik and produced by Boney Kapoor.

Aishwarya Rai in Robot

 Aishwarya Rai in Robot 

Aishwarya Rai on the sets of Hum Dil de Chuke Sanam

 

Aishwarya Rai meets the press in Delhi: TBT to 2000

Aishwarya Rai, 26, meets the press in Delhi: TBT to 2000
 

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in 2026

Wearing Manish Malhotra, after years, possibly a decade, of the most frightening sartorial selects, at long last Aishwarya Rai Bachchan seems to be returning to form. Slowly, painstakingly... 
 

Aishwarya Rai in 2013

 Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, arriving at an event hosted for Hugh Jackman. 

Rekha in Umrao Jaan: Perfection

 

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Aishwarya Rai with Shahrukh Khan on the sets of Mohabatein (2000)

Just three years into the film world, Aishwarya Rai was already a top star in brief cameo in the Shahrukh Khan/Amitabh Bachchan led Mohabbatein (2000). 

A film I had a problem with from the get-go as, if you know Hindi, there is no word as Mohabbatein. Written and directed by Aditya Chopra who is a true cinema buff, who made one of my all time favourite films DDLJ and a movie I hated passionately, Befikre. Sadly in fact, from DDLJ onwards, its been diminishing returns, his films have had more glamour, glitz and high production values, but the poetry has been bumper-car sticker lite, not as profound as intended, which always befuddled; when you have acccess to Javed Akhtar, Gulzar and Honey Irani...cough cough... why not tap into the natural resources of great writing and profound thinking that only age can bring in?! 

When Mohabbatein first came out - my mother, a Hindi teacher at Kendriya Vidyalaya - first looked at the word and went... what??!!  A sign of the haan-ji-sir-ji culture of Mumbai film industry, in his entireeeeee team, no one had the courage to bring it up to the boss-man, that the word ain't right?! 

Anyhoo, but nothing succeeds like success as of course this movie was a smash hit and made tonnes of money - think nine times the budget... so who argues with a crore-maker when we are hazaar-critics. 

The picture; well, Ash was 26 during the making of the film, her co-star 34. King Khan 

This on set pic, Khan holding the cig is the dead give-away, sparked rumours of the alleged affair between the two which created chaos in her personal life, the storied chaos of the Salman Khan alliance that sold a lot of tabloids and earned the keep of many a hack. Doubt there was any truth to it other than Ash's fandom of SRK and Khan's famed affection for all his co-stars, but Indian tabloids rarely let facts get in the way of a good newsstand selling (fiction) story. Which reminds me, the images of a kiss between Salman Khan and Aishwarya Rai (a cheeky one so relax!), allegedly earned the photographer top dollar, well, top Ruppee as it was a Cine Blitz exclusive.  

Rai looked glorious in the movie - truly a vision and backed with iconic songs, two scenes and a wardrobe that is still being emulated to date, she proved that its not the length of the role but its impact that matters. 

We long to watch Rai and Khan in a film again. Sadly, we think those days are done. But one never knows... we can manifest it to happen with a Netflix budget or something... 

As a film, it felt... fluffy. Essentially a launch pad for six newcomers, a life changing career move that.. sadly they couldn't sustain. Mohabatein was a summer, easy-breezy-blockbuster - that released in October! Delayed productions as Rai fell ill in between... The film requires very little thought and its candy and gelato colour scheme just made for fun viewing, not profundity. Which no one is really looking for in a Bollywood musical of large-scale production. 

Fan of parts of the movie... others are so skippable. Always wondered how they brought all those Canadian maple leaves to India... Some sad sack had to carry that from continent to continent....