Aishwarya Rai at age 18!

 

Twitter says its Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan's 19th anniversary!

On 20 April 2007, Bollywood's most photogenic couple got hitched after a decade of friendship, films and fulfilling the fantasies of a billion. 

It was the wedding of the decade - made all the more enticing as the press was not privy to most of the functions. Till date, only a handful of images have ever leaked online - including a notoriously fake pic that went viral - as tabloids could not go to print without a picture. 

The power couple seems to have stood the test of time, not letting gossip, rumours of breakups and patch ups galore, affect them in any way in public. Silence is indeed golden - as are these two! I mean just look at 'em! 

 

Mamta Kulkarni: A Legend in her own mind. No where else.

Question: Has the Indian actress and sex symbol of the 1990s in Bollywood, Mamta Kulkarni ever been nominated, let alone won a Best Actress award?

Answer: In a word; No! 

In recent public appearances on TV shows, the notorious Indian celebrity -- calling her an actress is a stretch -- Mamta Kulkarni has been hyping her own past and calling herself a 'legend'. Clearly, we have varying definition of the term. 

Mamta Kulkarni has never been nominated for a Best Actress award (such as Filmfare Award for Best Actress or similar major categories for lead performances). Reliable sources like her ardent fan pages, IMDb awards section, and Filmfare-related records consistently show her only recognized nomination and win was the Filmfare Award for Lux New Face of the Year (now known as Best Female Debut) in 1994 for her performance in her debut film, Aashik Aawara. This was a debut/new face award, not a Best Actress category, and is usually handed out to photogenic newbies and non-actors the likes of Twinkle Khanna, Ananya Panday and the infamous Ms Kuklarni.  

There are no records of nominations for Filmfare Best Actress (or equivalents like Screen Awards, IIFA, etc.) in her career, which spanned the early to mid-1990s with films like Karan Arjun, Sabse Bada Khiladi, and China Gate. She may have had box-office successes and danced with controversy with her bold interviews and semi-nude magazine covers, but the now-retired actress has never been a serious contender despite proclaiming to the media that she had a greater following than Madhuri Dixit. 

In another word; Delulu. 

Now aged 54, the infamous actor appears in front of the media having eschewed cinema for religion, but several critics have noted that she's using religion to mask some serious allegations. She can try to camoflage her crimes with saffron drapes, but the long arm of the law is eventually going to reach her.  

Aishwarya Rai in Taal

Subash Ghai thought he found the perfect muse in Madhuri Dixit - but really, it was the perfection of Aishwarya Rai in Taal. It's all been downhill after... 

 

Beauty Queens from India: Aishwarya Rai, Sushmita Sen, Diana Hayden and Yukta Mookhey

Sushmita Sen won the Miss Universe 1994, while Aishwarya Rai was Miss World, then in 1997 Diana Hayden (who also won multiple subtitles including Miss Photogenic) and then in 1999, the tallest of them all... Yukta Mookhey. 

Rakhee and Aishwarya Rai

 

Raakhee Gulzar's last Hindi film was Dil Ka Rishta (2003), where she played Aishwarya Rai's mother (Tia's mom). Her absolute last film before a long hiatus from regular acting was the Bengali movie Shubho Mahurat (also 2003), for which she won the National Film Award for Best Supporting Actress. She largely stepped away from films after 2003 (with only sporadic Bengali projects much later, like Nirban in 2019 and Aamar Boss in 2025).

What most of new gen doesn't recognise or understand, Raakhee was considered one of the great beauties of Indian cinema - who was also a phenomenal actress. Shoort, moon-faced, and with that signature husk and dialogue delivery, Raakhee - now age 78 - has won several major awards over her career, with the most consistently cited major wins being her two National Film Awards, three Filmfare Awards. She finally was awarded the Padma Shri (India's fourth-highest civilian honour) in 2003 for contribution in the field of Arts. 

Ash had mentioned that she wanted to work with Raakhee as her mother said there was a resemblance between the two - we didn't see it back then, but thanks to Instagram and other social media handles, you can find, rare, vintage postcards of Raakhee from the early days and she was indeed a striking Bengali beauty. 

Iconography: Rekha in Utsav: Iconic curvacious Indian beauty

Rekha, 30, in Utsav. Leena Daru did the memroable costumes and accessories for the leading lady

The iconic blue prom dress on Jaya Prada: Stylist Edit Peak 80s fashion and accessories

The iconic blue prom dress on Jaya Prada: Stylist Edit Peak 80s fashion and accessories. A look so memorable, one look and instantly ya know its from Sharaabi for that incredible song De de pyar de by the aincredible Asha Bhosle. 

Jaya Prada was 22 and Sharaabi was one of the biggest hits of 1984 - however, it was Amitabh Bachchan's towering, award-winning performance that people mostly remember. Unlike Sridevi or Rekha back then, Jaya Prada didn't get as many title or double roles to bolster her Bollywood career. She was often the perfectly lovely accessory to the leading man, she did a few memorable dances (a flawless dancer and so gracefu) but never did that many impactful films in Bollywood. Her collabs with legendary K Vishwanath were incredible, but didn't always translate to great box-office. 

Once called the most perfect face in Indian cinema - by Satyatjit Ray no less, we still think she was incredible but her full potential was rarely tapped. 

Sanjay Bhansali, Aishwarya Rai and Shahrukh Khan at Cannes

Sanjay Bhansali, Aishwarya Rai and Shahrukh Khan at Cannes 
 

Aishwarya Rai: Now and Then

Aishwarya Rai in Ritu Kumar from the early 90s to wearing Manish Malhotra recently. Stunning then, stunning now.

Stunning Aishwarya Rai, 19, with designer Ritu Kumar, the OG classic Indian designer who placed her power, influence and currency on Indian textiles and fabrication. She worked with Ash from the early days, focusing on the classic Indian beauty that she is.