Aishwarya Rai and Mani Ratnam: Four Films Across Twenty-Five Years

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has made many films, but her collaboration with Mani Ratnam is the one that I find most interesting. The director gave her first screen role in Iruvar in 1997, a Tamil political drama that was loosely inspired by the lives of two Tamil Nadu leaders, and it announced a new face of great poise.

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Their second film together was Guru in 2007, a Hindi drama about the rise of a businessman, with Abhishek Bachchan in the title role. Aishwarya played Sujata, the wife, and the film was well received. In 2010 came Raavan, a retelling of the Ramayana in which she played Ragini, with Abhishek and Vikram.

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The most recent partnership was Ponniyin Selvan, a historical epic based on a Tamil novel, in two parts released in 2022 and 2023. Aishwarya played Nandini, the schemer, in a double role that let her show both menace and tenderness.

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What I notice across the four films is how different the roles are. Ratnam does not use her only as a glamorous presence. He has given her a political drama, a corporate story, a mythical thriller and a period piece.

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Which of the four is your favourite? Mine changes from week to week, but I keep coming back to Iruvar.