Aishwarya Rai Bachchan On Being Seen Less Onscreen: I Have Never Been The One To Play Into Perception

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's last onscreen appearance was the 2018 film Fanney Khan alongside Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. Recently, the actress took the red carpet by storm at the Cannes Film Festival in France.

In an interview with Anupama Chopra of Film Companion, the Ae Dil Hai Mushkil star talked about why she is very selective about her projects.

Aishwarya said, "I'm asked this question so often, I think it's a good thing. Thank you for the love. I have no negative comments on the work coming my way because, to be fair, people have been very very kind. I've been getting very interesting scripts. What happened in the last two years was a natural pause that we all took. It's been a really challenging two years. My natural instinct is to focus on reality and what's going on."

She continued, "I've never been one to play into the idea of: Oh my god, time is flying by, why don't I have a release this year? How many releases do I want to put out. What are the kinds of comments I might attract? What kind of perception will this attract? I've never been one to play into perception. I'm blessed that I could focus on my family and not have to worry about how it will be 3-4 years before I have another release. I didn't have to worry about what the world would think or what the industry would think. That's not been me in good times, that's certainly not going to be me in times when the world is experiencing COVID-19."

Meanwhile, the actress is all set to return to Tamil cinema after ten years with Mani Ratnam's Pooniyin Selvan. Speaking about reuniting with her Guru director, Aishwarya said, "It's always special, each and every time. In the beginning, it was an absolute blessing for the student in me, who was just diving right into cinema and getting to work with Mani Ratnam. I couldn't have asked for a better opportunity."

The Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam actress said that she feels blessed to have got the opportunity to work with a director and talent like Mani Ratnam over the years on many memorable films. She added that working with him has been a great experience for her as a growing artist.

Aishwarya recalled Mani Ratnam telling her that Pooniyin Selvan is his dream project and said that she felt privileged and blessed when he asked her to be a part of her dream. The actress said that her experience of working with him on this film has been superlative.