Her foray into Bollywood started with her appearance in 'Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya' which did not click at the box-office. Her trump card came in the form of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' in which her performance was lauded. The audience began to sit up and started taking notice of this beauty who smiled out at her audience, stifled a giggle and drew butterfly-wing lashes down over her olive-green eyes.

 
The movie was followed by another noteworthy performance in 'Taal'. The two movies are the only saving grace of her career as she has yet to prove that she can carry a movie on her shoulders. A string of blink and miss appearances, flops followed.

Of late, she has become more careful in choosing her projects and deciding on who she would work with. Her last performances in which she showed considerable mettle was in 'Guru' and 'Provoked'. It would be safe to say she works best when she is in the safe hands of a good director like a Mani Ratnam or a Sanjay Leela Bhansali. She has also done a number of forgettable Hollywood flicks of which 'Provoked' is worthy of mention here. 

 
Whatever we might say, Aishwarya Rai is today a name to reckon with and is easily rated among the top actresses of Bollywood.

The year started off with her flick 'Guru'. Aishwarya Rai stunned us with a powerful performance. Known for her angelic looks all the while, the actor made people sit up and notice the reservoirs of talent in 'Guru'. Also, the chemistry between Abhishek and Aishwarya was electrifying.

Next was 'Provoked' in which she plays a Punjabi woman who kills her husband after being at the receiving end of constant mental and physical torture. The one aspect that's absolutely flawless is the choice of the actor enacting the role of the protagonist -- Aishwarya Rai. Stunning is the word that has often been used for this ethereal beauty, but for a change, you want to use this word for her performance in this film. Her work in 'Provoked' easily ranks amongst her best.

The marriage billed as Bollywood's biggest wedding in a decade took place when two of Bollywood's biggest stars, Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan tied the knot in a modest ceremony at the Bachchan family home in Mumbai, India, the climax of three-days of festivities. Abhishek Bachchan arrived at the service astride a horse, wearing an off-white sherwani and a white turban bedecked with flowers. Aishwarya, believed to be wearing a red and gold hand-embroidered sari, arrived in a silver Mercedes decorated with flowers along with her mother and brother.The Bachchan mansion was turned into "a fortress" as 1,000 security personnel worked around the clock to prevent crazed fans from gatecrashing the ceremony.

Aishwarya Rai then bagged 'The Pink Panther' sequel with Andy Garcia, John Cleese, Alfred Molina, and, of course, Steve Martin. The movie it seems will have Aishwarya in a more promising role as she will be playing one of the detectives along with Alfred Molina and Andy Garcia. They will join French police detective Jacques Clouseau, played by Steve Martin.The movie is expected to release in 2009.

She was also in the news for her work in Ashutosh Gowariker 's 'Jodhaa Akbar'. 'Jodhaa Akbar' is a sixteenth century story about a marriage of alliance that gave birth to true love between the greatest Mughal emperor that ruled Hindustan, Jalaluddin Mohammad Akbar, and the fiery young Rajput princess, Jodhaa. With Hrithik Roshan as Akbar and Aishwarya Rai as Jodhaa, the film is produced by UTV Motion Pictures and Ashutosh Gowariker Productions and is slated for release on 25th January 2008.

She is also all set to star in a major film about the Taj Mahal, India's famous monument to love. Rai will play the role of Mumtaz Mahal, the favourite wife of Mughal emperor Shah Jahan who built the stunning monument for her. Oscar-winning actor Sir Ben Kingsley, who will also be producing the $30m film, will play Shah Jahan.

Aishwarya Rai and the men in her life!

Previously with: Rajeev Mulchandani, Salman Khan, Vivek Oberoi

Current status: Married to Abhishek Bachchan

Aishwarya's relationship with Salman started on the sets of 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' in 1998.The two year relationship ended when Salman became increasingly abusive. Aishwarya moved on and began seeing Vivek Oberoi. Salman could not come to terms with the situation and this led to some altercations between them.This relationship again failed to make it till the end. It was finally junior Bachchan who won the heart of one of the world's loveliest women, and after seeing each other for a while they tied the knot on April 20!