Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Interview in “Connect The World” on CNN

CNN’s Max Foster interviewed World’s most beautiful woman and the leading figure in Indian cinema – Aishwarya Rai on CNN "Connect The World".

Aishwarya Rai as the "Connector Of The Day" talks about how her career started with her modeling as a hobby to becoming one of the biggest names in the Bollywood film industry.

Rai also talks about her new Bollywood movie that released today, called "Raavan" - written and directed by Mani Ratnam, which also starts her husband, Abhishek Bachchan.

Tell us about this new huge film called "Raavan" ?
It conjures up the very the very vivid image of a demonic king who had 10 heads. And he was this villain. The other protagonist in the film are Vikram (INAUDIBLE), a police officer. So he is the keeper of the law, the so-called hero.

And there is me, Ragini, who is Dev's wife in the narrative.

And through my eyes, the audience goes on to see that through situations and circumstances, the so-called hero and correct human being and the so- called outlaw, you will see shades of black and white and gray in both of them.

So, really, who are we to judge human nature and decide who is right and who is wrong, to come away with it?

So what did you learn from the film?Because I know the director said I want the audience to make their own decisions. What's your...
What I learned?

Yes, what did you learn?
I learned working in two languages at the same time is really tough.

And there's a good and bad there.
Snakes swim. Leaches look like noodles before they suck on your blood. And it isn't easy scaling a waterfall, because there's a lot of moths on the rocks.

But it looks so glamorous.
It gets really it's not.

Bollywood is glamorous, isn't it?
Well, a lot of Indian movies are glamorous and this one, I guess, goes against convention. Well, amongst many. They're not all necessarily glamorous. And especially this filmmaker, Mr. Mani Ratnam, is known to make a lot of cinema which well, he struck this fine balance where it will be an entertainer, it will be the so-called commercial format of an Indian film, and, at the same time, he brings an immense sense of realism to his narrative.

I've got some questions now from viewers.
Sultan from -- Sultan Karachi (ph) from Pakistan says that:

"Bollywood movies don't seem to do well in foreign markets, whereas Hollywood movies do really well in India."

Do you agree with him? You're in London so I know you're going to disagree with him.
No, no, no, no, no.

Because of
No, it's not because of this. I think people need to be a lot more of their homework before these statements are made. It isn't true that Indian movies don't do well outside of India. One in six is an Indian in the world population, as we put it and put it mildly.

In terms of English movies doing well in India, there are many that do well and there are many that don't necessarily do great business at all.

And I can say that for a fact because when I have had worked and, OK, yes, very few English movies. But from their perspective, I've heard first person that India is a market which is very unpredictable for them for English movies. It could do great business or it could be just a regular center. So it is very unpredictable.

"If you could choose one Hollywood actor or actress to work with in your next film, who would it be and why?"
A tough one, simply because I have never been good with these favorite questions, as in favorite film, favorite director, favorite actor.

You've got a favorite reporter now, though.
You, Max.

Can we get it on film?
She said yes.

No, that's such a tough one to answer. But good work, a good script and a great role for me is something that I that all

You're really going for the spirit of it, right?
And my role in yes, the entire picture.

"Is there anything that you feel you haven't achieved in your career yet?"

I can't imagine there is, because you've done so much so far. But, I guess, you know, you're ambitious, so there are things you still want to do.
Well, I don't feel a sense of achievement in terms of my work so far. It's a sense of accomplishment in terms of the kind of work I've been doing, because this is what I sought to do when I started out.

So it does feel good in terms of the body of work and the people I've been working with. But, you know, this is ocean. Look at the world's population. There are so many women out there I still have left to assay. So it's as long as I have good work coming my way and I enjoy doing what I'm doing, I'm going to be here still, you know, doing what I do.

OK. You're actually a bit of a late comer for us, because we were already into your husband...Oh

And your father-in-law.
Oh.

You are part...
There's a trick question coming my way.

You are now it's a real Bollywood dynasty now, isn't it? What's it like being part of that?
You know, this wasn't an exercise in a statement when we got married, it was just that Abhishek and me, we loved each other. We got the blessings of our families and which is great. And here we are married today.

Yes, we do recognize and if we didn't, we're reminded on a daily basis that, yes, this is a family of very established actors and personalities on the public platform. So, yes, my father-in-law, my mother-in-law, Abhishek and me all belong to this world. We do what we do and we do have an incredible amount of love and support from a very huge and vast audience out there. And thank you each moment.

But having said that, really, this wasn't a statement making alliance.

It was just two people getting married and very happy to be family today.

People are fascinated by you, though, aren't they?
It's kind of people like give us a sense of like we belong to this global family. And that kind of got underlined when we got married and we've come out in different job assignments. In fact, up until recently, we didn't realize because time is flying that it's been our third anniversary this April. And people come up to us and congratulate us like we're just married.