Aishwarya Rai has been a woman who has maintained her status as a proficient actor, a popular global name, a loving wife & daughter and a doting mother. The actress has been a front-runner when it comes to defying rule books and she did the same when it came to her pregnancy. The global star who won the Miss World title in 1994 and went on to become one of the most prominent names in Bollywood married actor Abhishek Bachchan, son of megastar Amitabh Bachchan. The two have a lovely daughter Aardhya Bachchan, whom they welcomed on 16 November 2011. As Aishwarya celebrates her birthday on Nov 1st, here's a throwback to her pregnancy days.
Considering she was 38 when she was pregnant with Aaradhya, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan had a "late" pregnancy. At a time when women were more comfortable undergoing C-section, Aishwarya opted for a normal delivery, even though there were some complications. She even refused painkillers.
After Aaradhya was born in 2011, her grand dad Amitabh Bachchan spoke at length about Aishwarya and her struggles with pregnancy. He told the media about Aishwarya's determination and what she went through during labour. "We went there on the 14th night. The doctors had told us that the baby could arrive anytime now. On the 16th morning, she delivered the baby. This was a normal delivery even though these days people opt for C-section and other things. But Aishwarya wanted a normal delivery. She had to struggle but I commend her that she was in acute labour for a long time, almost 2-3 hours. But she persisted, said she wanted a normal delivery. She did not use any epidural or painkiller," Indian Express quoted Big B as saying.
On the work front, Aishwarya Rai most recently appeared in Mani Ratnam's dream project Ponniyin Selvan I. The actress played the role of Nandini, The Queen Of Pazhuvoor. Speaking about her character, Aishwarya said she is glad that the story recognises these women of substance in full power. "Women have always been strong. It's just that they have been given opportunities differently down the ages," said the actress. She also credited Ratnam for providing women with the latitude to strive in this period drama.
“It’s wonderful how in this narrative women have or find a way of expressing their power. Mani Ratnam is a creator who has brought these women to life. Having worked with him in several films, he asks us (actors) to go beyond the dialogue and script and bring to life the thought of the character. He always attributes intelligence to his female protagonists and that’s true for all my character’s in his films,” she shared.
She will reprise her role as Nandini in Ponniyin Selvan: II.
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