Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas (2002), in which she played Paro with Shahrukh Khan and Madhuri Dixit, was an instant blockbuster. It also received a special screening at the Cannes Film Festival. She won the Filmfare Best Actress award. In 2003, she acted the part of Binodini in a Bengali film Choker Bali which was based on a novel by Rabindranath Tagore. The film was nominated for the Golden Leopard at the Locarno International Film Festival.
The year 2004 saw Ash in her first English film, Gurinder Chaddha’s Bride & Prejudice, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Her performance as Neerja in Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat was praised. This was followed by her second English film in 2005, The Mistress of Spices, with Dylan McDermott of The Practice fame. Her dance sequence Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli became one of the most popular tunes of the year.
She had two films out in 2006. Umrao Jaan with Abhishek Bachchan failed to do well while Dhoom 2 where she played Sunehri and shared a ‘controversial’ liplock with Hrithik Roshan was a big hit. In 2007, she played Sujata opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Guru, based on the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani and it was successful. Provoked, which was based on a real episode of domestic violence, won critical acclaim. The other English film, The Last Legion, did not do so well.
Jodhaa Akbar, released in 2008, in which she acted the part of Jodhaa Bai with Hrithik Roshan was average. The sequel to Sarkar, Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar Raj, in which she plays a CEO alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, is said to be one of her best performances till date.
In 2009, Rai looked her gorgeous self in The Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin.
She was also busy shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan with Abhishek Bachchan and Endhiran with Rajnikanth in 2009. Both movies will be released in 2010 along with Action Replay with Akshay Kumar and Guzaarish, in which she will play Hrithik Roshan’s nurse.
The year 2004 saw Ash in her first English film, Gurinder Chaddha’s Bride & Prejudice, an adaptation of Jane Austen’s Pride & Prejudice. Her performance as Neerja in Rituparno Ghosh’s Raincoat was praised. This was followed by her second English film in 2005, The Mistress of Spices, with Dylan McDermott of The Practice fame. Her dance sequence Kajra Re from Bunty Aur Babli became one of the most popular tunes of the year.
She had two films out in 2006. Umrao Jaan with Abhishek Bachchan failed to do well while Dhoom 2 where she played Sunehri and shared a ‘controversial’ liplock with Hrithik Roshan was a big hit. In 2007, she played Sujata opposite Abhishek Bachchan in Guru, based on the industrialist Dhirubhai Ambani and it was successful. Provoked, which was based on a real episode of domestic violence, won critical acclaim. The other English film, The Last Legion, did not do so well.
Jodhaa Akbar, released in 2008, in which she acted the part of Jodhaa Bai with Hrithik Roshan was average. The sequel to Sarkar, Ram Gopal Varma’s Sarkar Raj, in which she plays a CEO alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan, is said to be one of her best performances till date.
In 2009, Rai looked her gorgeous self in The Pink Panther 2 with Steve Martin.
She was also busy shooting for Mani Ratnam’s Raavan with Abhishek Bachchan and Endhiran with Rajnikanth in 2009. Both movies will be released in 2010 along with Action Replay with Akshay Kumar and Guzaarish, in which she will play Hrithik Roshan’s nurse.
