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Is Katrina Kaif’s increasing popularity beginning to overshadow the reign of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan? |
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One is believed to be the most beautiful woman in the world; the other is a model-turned-actress who has been voted FHM’s Sexiest Woman Alive
2008. One is the daughter-in-law of the first family in Bollywood; the other is the long-standing girlfriend of one of the biggest stars in Bollywood. So is Katrina Kaif’s increasing popularity beginning to overshadow the reign of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan?
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After winning Miss World in 1994, the Bachchan bahu put India firmly on the world map. Three years later, she made her debut in South Indian cinema, and has since won honours for her performances in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam, Mohobbatein and Devdas to name a few. Aishwarya is the first Indian actor to be a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, and is also the first Indian actress to have her own statue at London’s Madame Tussauds. She has become a firm favourite with audiences and has also become one of the most photographed women in the world.
After much speculation following the premiere of Guru in Toronto, Bachchan Junior asked for Aishwarya’s hand in marriage and the two tied the knot in April 2007. Since then, the actress has had just two Bollywood releases, Sarkar Raj and Jodhaa Akbar. The former architecture student has also just completed filming for the Hollywood sequel to Pink Panther, with a release set for 2009.
While the former Miss World has been somewhat lying low in the Bollywood arena, there have been other actresses who have jumped onto the popularity bandwagon in her absence. The most talked-about actress of the moment, mainly owing to her successful on-screen pairing with Akshay Kumar, is Katrina Kaif. She was initially known as Salman Khan’s girlfriend before her first release, Boom, but was first noticed on her own accord in Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya. Since then, Katrina has given audiences four consecutive hit films in 2007 alone, two of which were with Akshay.
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She was loved in her role in Race, where she was paired opposite Saif Ali Khan, and Singh is Kinng gave Katrina her fourth successful movie with Akshay.
Katrina has also become very popular in Indian advertising. Earlier in the year she topped Aishwarya by superseding her in Internet search keyword popularity. As if that wasn’t enough, a few weeks prior to the release of Singh is Kinng, Katrina as Brand Ambassador of Nakshatra, a world-renowned brand for diamond jewellery, replaced Aishwarya.
Katrina’s USP on screen is that she portrays a contemporary image of India, a blend which gives her perfect NRI look. Aishwarya, on the other hand, has always represented herself as a conventional and well-rooted Indian woman.
Even on the international stage, Ash has never fallen back in promoting her Indian heritage. In 2003, as a member of the jury at the Cannes Film Festival, Ash adorned the red carpet in a sari. Her statue at London’s Madame Tussaud’s also has her posing in an Indian dress as per her character in Gurinder Chadha’s Bride and Prejudice. Could this be the difference Kat can bring to Nakshatra diamonds? Could Kat’s modernity overshadow Ash’s traditional persona?
With Ash being the ex-girlfriend of Katrina’s current beau, Salman Khan, it’s no wonder there might be a little rivalry between the two beauties. Although her relationship with Salman can appear to be the most significant catalyst in Katrina’s career, nobody can deny that her last four films have been blockbusters.
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Perhaps Ash will have to rely on her Hollywood roles to keep her standing within the hearts of the international audiences, while giving way to Katrina, who is a younger and fresher depiction of Indian beauty, in Bollywood. That said however, rumour has it that Hollywood has recently been knocking on Katrina’s door too although the exact details haven’t yet been revealed.
Bipasha Basu had once said that if there’s a face that’s associated with the Indian film industry internationally, it’s Ash. She was the bride who overcame the West’s prejudice, the mistress who had the spice... well that says all. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the global face of Indian cinema she got five international films under her belt and more offers coming her way. She’s a regular at international film festivals and has Hollywood A-list actors such as Will Smith wanting to act with her – waiting for Ash to say yes.
Producer Pritish Nandy feels that Aishwarya has a lot more potential than what people have seen so far. “Ash has a lot of potential and yes, appeal. However, I still feel that there is more to explore there and I hope that Ash takes diverse roles that exploit her talent completely. She needs to do an out and out comedy.” Ash did an impressive job in films like Dhoom 2, Guru, Jodhaa Akbar and Sarkar Raj which gives her a clear edge over Katrina who is yet to prove her acting talent and is just considered as a very pretty face.
Only time will tell who will win this cat race with Yuvraaj failing to create magic at box office despite having Beau Salman paired with Kat it remains to be seen if Katrina can really match the Stature of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. Aishwarya is a star because she is someone who has an extra quality, an ability to light up in front of the camera in a way that is unexplainable. It will take lot of hard work and dedication for Kat to reach where Aishwarya is right now at the top, as someone rightly said it’s easy to reach the top but very difficult to stay there.
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