Ahead of Red Sea Film Festival opening, the Bollywood legend gives a masterclass on grace
At the event, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan greeted the audience, as fans and photographers swarmed her at the fifth Red Sea International Film Festival.
The room reverabated in claps and selfie requests, a rare public peek of the actress reflecting on her decades-long career and early pageant days.
Even when Aishwarya Bachchan’s charm was undeniable, the session itself felt carefully orchestrated—polished questions, no curveballs, a perfectly managed environment. It was an ideal setting for the actress to share her perspective sans the unpredictable sparks of a more probing conversation.
Reflecting on her early career, Aishwarya recalled how her path to Miss World was far from scripted.
Being a part of Miss World contest was incidental .She perceived it as a beauty pageant or a interestingly looked upon it as an opportunity to possibly represent the Indian woman internationally… Interestingly it amazed me how less informed a large part of the world was about Indian people or the Indian woman at the time…
Many even thought we were a land of tigers and snake charmers! That’s what she gave to the title about representing them as a people overseas:
Even as she embraced the visibility of the crown, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being crowned Miss World in 1994 she spoke candidly about the pressures of public life and the role of insecurity. “No, she assumed that’s a very, very, very real aspect of who she is. Insecurities have never been a driving force, which a lot of the voices around can try and get in your head and can sometimes propel choices. And that’s something never been real. The actress emembers Maniratnam telling her, you know what, it’s not really a launch film. It’s a movie. It’s a story. It’s not about launching Aishwarya. And she was like, wow, that’s the movie she wants to do.
Her choice of roles has consistently reflected this approach. Even.while the critical acclaim of films such as Devdas, she has prioritised the story over public expectation.
“Rekha did Choker Bali after reaching a crescendo with Devdas with Ritupurno Ghosh and she was like, wow, what a beautiful story. That’s the movie she wanted to do. So that sense, it isn’t the predictability she has all love. She has the support support. Ĥe gave to the industry of talents… and be willing to accept a no from her when a script doesn’t.”
Notably, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s approach extends to social media. She maintains a minimal presence, carefully curating when and how she engages. “So evidently, to those who have visited my one and only social media engagement platform, it’s almost been quite shy, like and basic…she is quite a quiet rebel there. And she was like, no, certainly not going to follow the expected. She kind of wanted to set an example, but make a statement of telling people to liberate from fooling into believing that this is what you need to feel validated.
Throughout the conversation, Aishwarya Bachchan reflected on her career and public persona with understated elegance. She balances visibility with privacy, ambition with perspective, and remains approachable to those who admire her work. Yet the tightly curated session also underscored that even a star of her stature operates within carefully managed spaces.
She went onto add that”Insecurity doesn’t drive her,” she added.
Red Sea International Film Festival runs until December 13
News Edit KV Raman
