Aishwarya on Oprah

A lot is being made about Aishwarya Rai's appearance on Oprah Winfrey, about the way she was talking and her whole demeanor. Here is what she said :-

Rai on the issue of Kissing in India :
It's not really a familiar sight.  I mean, people kiss but it doesn't happen as a norm around the corner--you know, on the street corner or whatsoever.  It's more private.  It's a more private expression of emotion.  And so I guess art imitates life and that kind of comes across in our cinema as well.
Rai on Kamasutra: Spirit, spunk, yoga, its all thrown in.

Rai on whether she exercises: Until now, no, I haven't. There are gyms in India.  Generally, I don't think for a long time it's been necessarily a part of every individual's regime, but it's definitely come in in recent times.

Rai on her so called mission to dispel myths on Indian women: There's just so many.  Like, from the first time that I traveled overseas and interacted with people, the immediate response was to the way I spoke English, and people wondered where I got it and they say, `No, you must have studied outside of India.'  And I go, `No.'  I mean, why would people think that we don't study English?  And that kind of took me aback and really shocked me.
She goes on :  My living with my family is such a topic. In India, it's more about the family, about living together, about remaining connected, and that's probably the most beautiful special things about.

Rai on the Issue of arranged marriages in India: Today, arranged marriages in urban India would probably be more like a global dating service, the way that kind of--the families study each other's backgrounds, bring the couple together, and then they get engaged, they date.  And if it works, then they get on with the alliance and they get married.  But if they don't find themselves compatible, then, yeah, a lot of them fall out within that engagement period.  But in rural India, it probably would be like it was before, the arranged marriage system, where you just meet and if the families are happy, they get married.
Rai on cross-cultural marriages in India: It's a very big deal, very subjective, but broadly speaking, yeah, very often that does become a huge discussion.
Rai on the Skin treatment Industry in India:  I think it reflects when you see the matrimonials and you see requests for a fair, dah, dah, dah, dah, dah--you know, when `fair' comes in, I guess, yeah, that is kind of ingrained that people are happy to have fair daughters.  It comes up in the matrimonial, and, you know, in the marriageable phase, these things do get discussed, which I think is absolutely uncalled for and totally unwarranted because, I mean, in India, we have all skin colors. We have all physical features.  We really have the world within India.  If you go from the north to the south, the east to the west, we just have them all. We have the small eyes.  We've got the fair skin, the darker skin , straight hair, everything.  We just have it all in India.

Her answers were not stupid, but her demeanor was child-like and at times dumb. This appearance was still better than the one on Letterman, where in her apparent attempt to be funny she seemed pretentious at first then just plain N simple stupid. She is introduced each time as one of the most influential people in the world (according to Time Magazine). Personally, i think Bachan is far more influential in India and among Indians world-wide. I have seen her interviews in India, she seemed much more intelligent than these appearances. It seems she's trying too hard and most of the times she is treated like an attraction. Also, her interviews hardly lasted more than 15mins, just one little part of the show. She should just be herself, after-all she's south-indian and they are supposed to be intelligent.
(Transcript of Bachan's interview by tomorrow)

Nominate The Greatest Indian, make your pick.

Comments

[Gaurav]

I am waiting for Bacchan's transcript! And btw Aishwarya is not Bengali. She is from Karnataka.

[Jatin Varma]

I changed it ! still south indians are supposed to be more intelligent

[Nisha]

I've heard her "art imitates life" comment a little too many times. and the giggling was just way over board. it was like she had just inhaled nitrous oxide.

[Aashka]

For the first couple of questions I could have sworn she gave EXACTLY the same answers in 60 Minutes, literally word-for-word. And the 'global dating service' is her dialogue from Bride and Prejudice. Can this woman actually think for herself or does she always memorise the politically correct beauty pageant answers? lol :p

[Divya]

i love aishwarya, and we should be proud that an indian is representing india in america as she does. I believe she does think for herself, and she is very intelligent. I think the reason for her giggling is to come off as playful and youthful, which is very sexy and cute. She is ten times smarter than most hollywood actresses, u guys should be supportive of her, not pick apart the small things about her. No one is perfect,and she is indian, she doesn't completely understand american culture so she obviously will do a better interview in india rather than america. She has so many talents, like acting, singing, and beauty. Just the fact that Oprah wore a sari on this episode is reflective of aishwarya's impact on the world, Oprah, one of the most powerful women in America (most successful financially at least)! I only wish Aishwarya the best of luck, and it's wonderful she's marrying Vivek!!

[Nisha]

Indeed, being beautiful is a well-respected talent
:-)

[Prathap]

Aishwarya is the combination of beauty and brain ..and there is no doubt about it.
Cheerup Ash...After all you are from karnataka...you are an intelligent woman.

[sougata]

well ashwarya is far far far better than any of the so called "great actresses" in india.... i dont know that wat people get bashing her.... she is just too good for them... basically most people are jealous of her success.. because most of them think that she should be "beauty without brains"... but that cant be.. and she being politically correct... well that is very much needed... after all we cant really expect her to answer in such a way so that she will be flown with false admirers(like mallika serawat about her being bold ans "sexx selling issues")
guys take a chill pill.. she is a simple indian girl like any one... so cheer her up.. she deserves to becheered up.. after all even AMITA~BH BACCHAN really dont have any impact on world cinema as she has and amitabh has NEVER tried to show the world to indian cinema as she is doing....got it?

[smita]

I was soo looking forward to watch aishwarya's interview on 60 minutes ( australia)?? she got asked 4 questions.. and she didnt answer them properly at all/???
the most shocking thing was when she was asked if she had a steady boyfriend and her answer was...." hehehehe..i"ll leave that for the autobiography""?? the interviewer thought it was a joke and was still waiting for the real answer.... and she just heehehehehed again...?????

i thought she is really gorgeous... but the interview really put me off....

[Nam.]

i agree aishwarya is really good and all,and i am her fan and really pround of her work! but i too think BACHAN is more influential than any other indian artist!!! period!

[annie]

oh puhleeez...ash is nothing like a bengali..she doesn't have anything in her head . bengalis are characterised by intellect above eveything else , but that's wat she lacks completely . and 'cmon guys....get over these stereotypes..that just cuz she's south indian , she'll be intelligent . these fixed ideas used to exist long back . i know a lotta super dumb southies , n very intelligent punjabis !

anyways , thing is...ash has a gr8 publicist n PR agent who's geting her these inteviews . but it won't be long b4 america sees thru her . she's an embarrasment to each n every indian . we'd rather not have anyone representing us , than have this utterly dumb n vacuous person mouthing inanities .

watch out for her on the oprah winfrey show , where oprah asks her : do indians think americans are rude?" ash's response : " no we are very hospitable " !!!!!
i mean ...c'mon..u can't get dumber than that !!
o n also this : oprah-"do u guys think we get a lot of divorces ? "
ash : "that cd be a discussion"
oprah " u're a diplomat" !

u see...even oprah has understood something abt her which we stupid indians hv not been able to for years . she's a cunning , politically correct n v shwred woman , with a 'please-all' attitude . she turned up in cannes with a completely westernised wardrobe , unlike mallika or nandita . so y does she claim she's representing india ?? she's desperately trying to be white...with that pale bleached skin , green eyes , n almost-blonde hair .she has no self respect , n has no interest looking indian .
she's an insult to indianness .

someone shd send sushmita sen over to the west to undo the damage that ash has done !! n in any case , she'll do a much better job in hollywood movies than ash .

[XTR]

Aishwarya Rai does not have brains really, every answer was so stupid. The worst thing she said was That fair skinned women in India are treated as having a marriagable face. "Marriagable Face"????????? (The transcript here puts it differently but after listening to her interview several times I think this is what she said).

Ash should really take a training where she can learn to talk sense and act more mature

[sharav]

I just have to make few comments on sougata's comment ......aishwarya is a gorgeous female period. There is nothing more to her .......and as far as the impact goes just by appearing in interviews you don't make an impact ......and comparing her to Amitabh bachchan is inane...here is a man who was voted the greatest actor by BBC being compared to a female who's only qualification is that she is gorgeous .......It's like comparing Al pacino, robert de niro and others to marlyn monroe.....

[flavours]

i so agree with annie...we really need to send sushmita sen to america to undo all the damage this empty headed beaut has done!!! gosh!i shudder to think that people are gonna start believing that indians are really dumb afta her intreview with oprah!Boy!trust me we have wayyyyy betta lookin gurls in india...and with brainz!!!

[shri]

I agree with Annie too. I have seen Sushmita on many interviews and she is always diplomatic, level-headed and presents India and her people in the best light. Aishwarya is sounding very much like a teenager "trying too hard to fit in" and yes- her absolutely gorgeous face is her only qualification!
Help- Sush!

[abc]

Aishwarya is okay.I think sush is best , nobody can beat her in anythin' ,not even ash.
Sush is beautiful, sensible and she knows where to say wat.She is just Fantabulous

[liz]

aish just didn't understand! she is extremely beautiful (as u have all agreed to) but she is also very smart! she was probably just very nervous as anyone would be and probably thought herself not good enough and the result was not admirable but STILL don't judge just there! i think its great she even did it! shes a very good actress, singer, dancer, etc. don't diss because of her newness to everything! i wouldn't do good in india! even if i knew some of the language and i kno everyone would be the same way! my friend zoya is brilliant, extremely brillaint, and she acts really ditzy! its just a cover up and she'll be fine soon enough!

[annie]

no , liz hon , it's not a one-off thing for ash . she's like this all the time...fake , pretentious n dumb..even in the interviews she gives in india .

thing is everyone has seen thru her now . she has been piggybacking on sanjay leela bhansali's success , n calling herself the 'queen of bollywood' abroad , but tell me , how many successes has she has apart from HDDCS n devdas ? n the credit for both goes to sanjay bhansali , not her . n not a single preformance she has given till date has been acclaimed critically . she's always so awkward , n self-conscious in front of the cam , that her preoccupation is with lookin great , n giving the best angle . dialogue delivery n acting can go to hell , as long as i look gorgeous.... right , ash ??

trust me , we can do without non-actresses like her who embarass us intenationally . remember her performance in 'bride... ' ? gosh...despicable . n wat kinda accent was that ??? she was trying hard to sound "phoren" , n all she got was a strange cross between a brit n yanky twang . y cdn't she speak english the way girls in india do ? after all , that's wat her character was . if she wdn't try oh-so-desperately to fit in n wd just be her normal , natural(ahemm...ash n natural..hehe.. expecting a bit too much , m i ? ) , she wd do a better job .

[kumar chiman sinha]

Aishwarya is not Bengali.She is inteligent.she is not a good lover.salman shows that she is very bad also.

[TANISHA ROY]

Just 3 things -
No 1 - ASH said NOTHING wrong and did NOTHING wrong on Oprah's show.
No 2 - The Oprah show is a ''typical, relaxed and infomal'' american TV show.Its not a 'court trial' where everything u say and do has to be politically correct.When Oprah's cracks a joke u just gotta laugh.
No 3 - NO OTHER BOLLYWOOD ACTRESS HAS HAD THE HONOUR OF BEING ON OPRAH - period!!

[Faz]

I think You guys should be more supportive of this woman who has made India proud on so many occasions. No one is perfect, not even Ash, she has tried her best.

Faz - Guyana

[Waterbabe]

Hi, I'm from South Africa and a BIG fan of Bollywood so I eagerly anticipated seeing Aishwarya on Oprah (we saw it a few months after it had been aired in the US). Anyway, I thought the interview was very superficial. I don't blame Ash at all. She did her best to answer Oprah's flimsy and rather stereotypical questions. For a woman renowned for her intelligence and ability to connect with people, Oprah acted completely clueless. Hello? What about research? She was completely unprepared. Then again, she is American and they truly believe that they are the only civilized people on earth.

[Bindu Belani]

Well if there is Aishwarya everywhere representing India then that is great! So far Susmita Sen has not achieved what Aishwarya Rai has. I would say that Ash is a complete winner in everything in comparison with Sushmita because Ash has world wide fame better than Sush. Sush should learn from her and that she can do something more to her fame. Aishwarya Rai on oprah and thats a big thing for the indian film industry to ever happen and so let that be it.

[sher]

u butheads why the hell do u compair ash with sush or any other actresses , ya u guys just tell me atleast 1 good performence or award winning perfmnce that she has deliverd n as far as the talent is concerned ash is 1000 times better than sush ,she has only come up cos of her beauty n her talent . u guys pls understand that everybody has their own style n she is just her self thats it......

[Shree]

Aishwarya is a typical Indian Man's fantasy... the woman you can introduce your mother and say "she is the one!". She is graceful and poised, and very very Indian. It is her choice that she did not wish to reveal the name of her boyfriend, and that is the Indian shyness in her. Modesty is the jewel of an Indian woman, and she has everything in her to be the epitome of Indian beauty. I am amazed to read rude comments on her pale skin and green eyes. They are natural, for God's sake. As for her "nearly blonde" hair... Hair dyes are in vogue, and you don't lose your Indianness by using them. Critics of Aishwarya, please be sensible and mature.