Aishwarya Rai Bachchan was promoting her upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan – 2 when she was asked about playing the role of Nandini once again 24 years after Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.
Mumbai: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan says she’s glad to be playing strong women on-screen all these years. The actor is once again gearing up for a new movie. This time, with her mentor Mani Ratnam for the second part of his magnum opus Tamil pan-India directorial – Ponniyin Selvan 2. At an event in Mumbai to promote the film, Aishwarya answered the media questions and highlighted how ‘special’ is Nandini, a character that she first played in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s ‘Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam‘ in 1999.
The actor’s character in PS-2 is also named Nandini and when a journalist mentioned the coincidence to her, she asked back: ‘Amazing na?’. Aishwarya said, “What a coincidence. It’s amazing na? Even Nandini in Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam was very very memorable. She has lived in people’s hearts and I’m so so thankful that I got to play Nandini then too. She had remained special to the audience and, of course, to me.”
AISHWARYA RAI BACHCHAN REMEMBERS ‘NANDINI’ FROM HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM
Talking about loving every bit of playing Nandini in the Mani Ratnam directorial, she added, “That was Sanjay Bhansali ji, and today for my Mani Garu, I got to play Nandini in Ponniyin Selvan. That’s just a tremendous blessing, to have gotten to play such strong women, such layered women, and women with characters that touch the lives of so many women out there. There’s a relatability and I am very very very grateful (sic).”
Aishwarya was paired with Salman Khan in the blockbuster film directed by SLB. The duo never appeared together in any full-fledged role later. However, the former Miss World did a cameo appearance in his ‘Hum Tumhare Hai Sanam‘ in the year 2002. In the 1999 film, Aishwarya played the role of a Gujarati girl in a conservative music family who falls in love with Sameer, essayed by Salman, a man brought up in the West.
Meanwhile, Ponniyin Selvan 2 is slated to hit the screens on April 28. The film also features Trisha Krishnan, Chiyaan Vikram, Karthi, Sobhita Dhulipala, and Jayam Ravi in important roles. Watch this space for all the latest updates on PS-2!