We know how it looks but logically speaking, the jury is still out on this one. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan (?) is without a doubt a top-ranking name in the list of Indian global icons. Not just her beauty and craft, but her humanitarian pursuits are also what keeps her legacy in the public eye thriving.
Part of this then, was her appearance at the Global Women's Forum Dubai 2024 last night, where she addressed the starry-eyed gathering of women on the platform's consistent efforts in using diversity to effect empowerment and equality. Though Aishwarya delivered an impactful piece, her words appear to have entirely drowned out in the face of what was displayed on the screen behind her — or at least the public reactions to it make it seem so. As Aishwarya was introduced and she walked on stage, the screen behind her credited her as an 'international star' — and here's the cincher — just 'Aishwarya Rai'.
Aishwarya was always Aishwarya Rai. Be it her successful pageantry run ending in the 1994 Miss World victory or the most successful chunk of her acting career — much of her favour with the audience was achieved on the steam of her maiden name. It was only much later, in 2007, that her marriage to Abhishek Bachchan made her Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, an addition she has proudly made use of since.
So seeing it just 'gone', that too on such a massive global platform, not to mention amid the raucous rumours of divorce, has understandably been gauged as a statement in itself. So was.
