The misunderstood phenomenon called Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

The recent onslaught of trolling directed at
actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, after her
latest release, Fanney Khan failed to impress
the critics, is amusing at some level and
disturbing at another. The fact that actors
get credit when films do well, and therefore
should be prepared for facing criticism
when they don't, isn't debatable. What
doesn't fit-in here is the extent and kind of
flak that comes Aishwarya's way when that
happens. Feedback from so-called well-
wishers turns into sermons on how she
should reinvent her career, now that she's
in her 40's and time's running out for her'.
Anonymous opinion pieces start floating
about, questioning all her career choices till
date. The latter is particularly ironical, given
the fact that Aishwarya Rai has been one
actor who has taken risks with her choice
of films from the moment go.
After winning the Miss World title in 1994
and getting the kind of attention she got in
the process, the actor was spoilt for choice
when it came to her debut vehicle. That she
chose Mani Ratnam's Iruvar over all
mainstream Bollywood flicks on the table
should have shown - fans and detractors
alike that she prefers the unconventional
over the obvious. Why, she refused the
historical role of Briseis opposite Brad Pitt
in Troy, something that most actors would
give an arm and a leg for. This, at a time
when blink-and-you-miss-it roles in
Hollywood were also being lapped up by
Asian actors as gifts from God.
Aishwarya in a still from Raincoat.
Whether it was the multi-layered character
of Nandini in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam
(1999) or the subtle Neeru in Rituparno
Ghosh's Raincoat five years later, it was
clear that the woman chose roles for the
depth in them!! If more proof is needed of
her tendency to listen to her gut over the
roles that experts' would typically like a
beautiful Indian actress who can also
dance' to take up, one could simply look at
her decision to play sister to Shah Rukh
Khan (Josh; 2000) at a time when such a
choice would have been considered suicidal
for a heroine at her peak. For a woman
with no filmi Godfather, one who chose to
marry into the first family of Bollywood and
still never looked around to lean on their
connections for a career boost, simply
having a mind of her own became a bane,
when that is one thing most inspirational
about her life's journey. In a profession
where facing flak for an outfit choice, a
parenting choice, a choice to lose weight at
their own pace, a choice to take time-out, a
choice when to comeback' are anyway
considered a par for the course for women
actors, at least a choice in the role they wish
to take up or not, better be left to them. In
peace.
Aishwarya in stills from Sarbjit and Ae Dil
Hai Mushkil.
And therefore, a Taal and a Chokher Bali,
and an Ae Dil Hai Mushkil and a Sarbjit later,
it's ludicrous to ask Aishwarya Rai why she
signed Fanney Khan. She clearly did because
in her good judgment, she may have been
convinced about the significance of the
role, despite the script making it clear that
the character came with only 20 minutes of
screen time. If the film had worked, a
collective applause would have gone the
way of a veteran such as Anil Kapoor, a
National Award winner such as Rajkummar
Rao, and, of course, Aishwarya's impressive
cameo'. If it hasn't, well, let's troll Aishwarya
and tell her that she needs to make better
choices in life. After all, if you look so
beautiful despite the age, shouldn't you
grab the opportunity to merely romancing
the hero, with both hands! Well, thankfully
no. The times have changed and so has the
thinking of actors and audiences. It's time
for the trolls to come to the party.

https://m.hindustantimes.com/bollywood/the-misunderstood-phenomenon-called-aishwarya-rai-bachchan/story-7aRERGhO9VsddsS3dFUtFM.html.