Golden gal: Rekha: Burning amber

 Rekha brought high glamour to fashion shoots in film magazines. 

Young Aishwarya Rai for MOVIE magazine

 A cover shoot for MOVIE magazine, young Aishwarya Rai got the cover in the first year of her career. 

Aishwarya Rai in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000)

 

Aishwarya Rai in Dhai Akshar Prem Ke (2000)

The Staggering beauty of Aishwarya Rai in Taal

The Staggering beauty of Aishwarya Rai in Taal 

Released on August 13 (Sridevi's birthday!) in 1999, two months after the success of Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Aishwarya Rai ended the century at the very top. All of 26, she was easily the Number One female star of India.  Box office, awards, top co-stars, films, directors... just no looking back. Except to catch the light. 

Second Take: The perfection of Aishwarya Rai as a supermodel: AI couldn't generate this

Second Take: The perfection of Aishwarya Rai as a supermodel: AI couldn't generate this. Well, it could - but not as well. 

 

Aishwarya Rai: Second look

 Aishwarya Rai: Second look. Can anyone pls name the film below? 

Aishwarya Rai's 90s perm

 Aishwarya Rai's 90s perm 

Rekha in the 1990s: MOVIE magazine shoot

 Rekha in the 1990s: MOVIE magazine shoot 

 Images by Rakesh Shreshta 

Aishwarya Rai hits Bollywood in the early 90s

 

Aishwarya Rai hits Bollywood in the early 90s

TBT: Aishwarya Rai in Hong Kong / then Macau for IIFA 2007

 TBT: Aishwarya Rai in Hong Kong / then Macau for IIFA 2007

Katrina Kaif's "item song" in Agneepath (2012)

Click to enlarge - large portraits of Katrina Kaif in the blockbuster film Agneepath (2012). 
 

Aishwarya Rai's sexiest saree

Aishwarya Rai attending Fardeen Khan's wedding reception, in the wake of a broken relationship, it was the ultimate, whoaaaa look at her moment for Indian tabloids.

She's never looked better, more glamorous, more gorgeous at any event. Head to toe perfection.

See all the shots from our archive here. 

Aishwarya Rai's Passport Photos - outtakes

Gosh this level of perfection. Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai: Second Take

Aishwarya Rai: Second Take. 2 cute

Aishwarya Rai in NY Times

These exquisite portraits of Aishwarya Rai taken for New York Times.

"When I got the assignment to shoot some Indian

actress in town, I had just returned from a shoot in

Milan, jet-lagged and feeling like the dog's

breakfast. Rai came in with her posse of agents and I

thought, man, diva is going to be problematic. She

said "Hi", shook hands with everyone, sat on the couch

and we were ready to go.

That face. From every angle, light and scope, I rarely

use the word perfection but... holy crap. I felt my

senses shed the time lag, I started breaking into a

sweat when I looked through my lense and my fingers

were getting wet. We had 20 minutes to do the

portraiture and I kept shooting non stop - like a 49

calibre rifle that never missed its target. In the

spreadsheet, about ninety percent of the shots were

good for print.

When she was about to leave, I was like a hormonal

teen wishing she'd stay longer. I didn't want the

dream to end. I was stuttering and talking like Yoda,

"Good thanking you I much."

L Hughes,

NY Times Photographer.

 

Perfection: Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai in Devdas. Perfection on screen.

Mike Ruiz captures Aishwarya Rai

Ace American photographer Mike Ruiz captures Aishwarya Rai as never before. Gorgeous.

Aishwarya Rai in Taal (1999)

There's a moment when Aishwarya Rai appears in this song Ramta Jogi, where I distinctly remember hearing a collective audience gasp when the stunner appears in all her magnificence in the second verse.

Beautiful beyond belief, in her sensuous avatar of singer/dancer Mansi in Taal, this was Ash Rai at her finest hour. Released in the summer of 1999, there was no one hotter in Mumbai than this beauty queen.

Devdas: Aishwarya Rai

Aishwarya Rai in Devdas. Perfection on screen.

Aishwarya Rai

Too, two beautiful Aishwarya Rai.