If the early 2000s were about consolidation, 2002 was about coronation. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas was India’s most expensive film at the time, and its submission to the Oscars catapulted Rai onto the global stage. But the real shift happened off-screen.

: Her most recent major success was the two-part historical epic Ponniyin Selvan: I

Aishwarya Rai married Abhishek Bachchan, a Bollywood actor, in 2007. The couple has a daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan, born in 2011.

Since 2002, she has been an inseparable fixture at Cannes, initially representing Devdas and later serving as the first Indian actress on the festival's jury in 2003.

: In 2004, she moved into international cinema with Bride & Prejudice , followed by Hollywood roles in The Mistress of Spices and The Pink Panther 2 (2009).

Aishwarya Rai's impact on popular media can be seen in several areas: