Happy Birthday: The rise of Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan who turns 47

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan proves that age is just a number as she marks her 47th birthday on Sunday. Here’s a look at her journey from the days of beauty pageants to movie star.

She won the Miss World pageant in 1994 after which she made her Bollywood debut with 'Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya' in 1997. In that same year, the blue-eyed beauty made her first appearance in Tamil cinema with ‘Iruvar'.

Often cited as 'the most beautiful woman in the world', the blue-eyed beauty has always charmed the screen and is one of the most most-talked about celebrities on the Cannes red carpet every year. She was the first Indian actor to be a jury member at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003.

In 2007, Rai married fellow actor Abhishek Bachchan soon after their movie 'Guru' won plaudits. They married in a private ceremony attended by close family members and friends. Back then, their nuptials were billed as the ultimate Bollywood royalty event and their union spoken of as the showcase of a brand-building exercise done right.

From ‘Devdas' Paro to ‘Hum Dil De Chuke's Nandini to ‘Mohobbatein's Megha, Rai Bachchan has shown her versatility in a number of Hindi films. And she’s done the same with her Hollywood ventures including 'Bride And Prejudice’ and ‘Provoked’.

Rai Bachchan not just made headlines for her Hollywood ventures but was also in news for rejecting some huge opportunities. She turned down, for instance, Brad Pitt-featuring ‘Troy’ because she wasn’t comfortable filming certain scenes. She also turned down three films -‘Hitch’, ‘Seven Pounds’ and’ Tonight He Comes’ - offered to her by Will Smith.

Rai Bachchan was awarded India’s fourth highest civilian honour, the Padma Shri, by the Indian government in 2009. She also holds the Ordre des Arts et des Lettres by the French government.

Rai Bachchan was last seen in the 2018 movie ‘Fanney Khan’ and is readying for a roll in Mani Ratnam's epic Tamil drama ‘Ponniyin Selvan'.

If you really want to get a feel of the person she is, follow Rai Bachchan on Instagram, where she shares moments - both spontaneous and posed - of her family.

Birthday greeting started pouring in for the actress from her Bollywood peers on Sunday. Mum- to-be Anushka Sharma, who is currently in Dubai for the ongoing IPL, shared a picture of her 'Ae Dil Hai Mushkil,' co-star and wrote, "Happy Birthday Aish. May you keep spreading radiance all around."