Ash you like it

In today’s world, a hiatus of six months to a year is time reasonable enough — both for employer and employee. Five years though, is a long, long time and in our country, governments could change within that period. That’s also how long Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan has stayed away from the limelight — to focus on her daughter, and family. But now, the star is making a textbook comeback!

Earlier this week, Aishwarya hit the ramp in New Delhi for Manish Malhotra and left critics gobsmacked. “You will see me more often,” is what she said to waiting cameras. Also, this year was probably her best outing at Cannes as far as her sartorial choices were concerned. In fact, if recent appearances are to go by, Ash has amped up the glam quotient “She understands expectations from her and is set to deliver them.

She knows that she has to compete with newbies too, so she has to look glamourous and prove that she’s still worth a million bucks,” says adman Prahlad Kakkar, “She’s not doing it for a film, but for herself. Once she makes a decision, there’s no stopping her. She’s a tremendously determined lady and she won’t leave anything to chance.”

Aishwarya also has a quiet, humble acceptance (and disregard) for criticism — whether it was her postpartum weight gain or her fashion sense. Piyush Pandey, executive chairman at Ogilvy & Mather India, says, “She has not taken stardom for granted and is genuinely working hard to get back in the game. You need a lot of self-belief to make a comeback and leave a mark all over again.”

Many other top actresses like Kajol, Madhuri Dixit and Rani Mukerji did try to come back into showbiz with plump projects, but some failed to meet expectations and others simply didn’t set the box-office on fire. So, how important is it to create awareness in the public space? Image guru Dilip Cherian says: “The trick is to fill the gaps in your popularity quotient, figure out which audiences have you missed out on and mimic what the other popular actors are doing. For Aishwarya, two things are in her favour — her stunning beauty and family. But she is battling age, marriage and babies now. She has to be linked with buzz-making events or people to create an impact. Plus, getting the production house and directors right will work. Ultimately, it all depends on her performance in Jazbaa.”