Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Birthday: Six Unique Feats Of The Bollywood Star That Remain Unparalleled To This Day

Today is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s birthday. A lot has been written about India’s second Miss World’s (1994) beauty over the past three decades. However, her real resplendence lies in her exceptional achievements. The Free Press Journal lists the top six milestones of the Bollywood actress that no one else in the Indian film industry has even come close to.

A rare tulip is named after her

Yes, you read that right. It so happened that in 2005, during a visit to the Netherlands, the Dutch government named a vibrant hybrid tulip after Aishwarya to honour her global appeal and timeless beauty. These special tulips named “Aishwarya” can be seen blooming at the largest flower garden in the world, Keukenhof Gardens in Lisse.

SRK’s sister and on-screen lover

Aishwarya holds the unique distinction of playing Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan’s sister in Josh (2000) as well as his love interest in films like Mohabbatein (2000) and Devdas (2002). Not a single actress before or since has pulled this one off.

India’s favourite Jane Austen heroine

She’s the only Indian actress to play the main lead in Jane Austen novel adaptations in Indian cinema twice. Kandukondain Kandukondain (2000), a Tamil adaptation of Jane Austen’s 1811 novel Sense and Sensibility, featured the actress in the lead role alongside Tabu. Ash played Meenu based on the character Marianne Dashwood. Then came Bride and Prejudice in 2004. Based on Austen’s classic 1813 novel Pride and Prejudice, Aishwarya played Lalita Bakshi which was adapted from the character of Elizabeth Bennet.

She’s been on the Oprah Winfrey show twice

In 2005, Aishwarya became not just the very first Indian actress but the first South Asian actress to make an appearance on the then mega popular chat chow. She appeared as part of the Women Across the Globe segment, where she discussed Indian culture, arranged marriages, public affection norms, skin color perception, and even draped a pink saree on Winfrey. She returned to the show in 2009, however this time, she also brought along hubby Abhishek Bachchan with her. She remains the only Indian star to have graced the show twice.

She had signed a film with Meryl Streep and rejected a film opposite Brad Pitt

Aishwarya Rai remains the sole Indian star to sign a film which starred Hollywood legend Meryl Streep. Titled Chaos, unfortunately, the film never took off despite both actresses agreeing to do it. Ash was approached to play Angelina Jolie’s role of Jane Smith opposite Brad Pitt in Mr & Mrs Smith. You may ask, why did she decline to do the film? Due to its intense intimate and kissing scenes.

17,000 websites

Back in 2004, at the very height of her popularity, Ash had 17,000 fan websites dedicated to her. These were not just created by Indian fans but many of them were by her global fans. However, out of those, the blue eyed stunner had authorised just one. So Happy Birthday to India’s most recognised global face. While a few did manage to tread to the West and shout from the rooftops even if they got a sliver of recognition there, the OG just silently paved the way and hardly tom-tomed about it.

Published on: Sunday, November 01, 2026, 07:00 AM IST