Aishwarya Rai Bachchan Opens Up on Choosing Family, Clarity and Meaningful Cinema at Red Sea Film Festival 2025

The actress reflects on motherhood, insecurity-free career choices, and her early artistic influences while captivating audiences at the festival.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan lit up the red carpet at the Red Sea Film Festival 2025, where her elegant appearance and warm interaction with Hollywood star Dakota Johnson became instant highlights. But it was her opening-day session—an honest, reflective conversation about career, conviction, and motherhood—that truly left an impact on audiences.

During the talk, Aishwarya shared that she has never felt insecure about working less frequently in films. She credited this calm confidence to the joy she finds in her personal life, especially in raising her daughter Aaradhya and being present with her husband Abhishek Bachchan. According to her, insecurities have never dictated her choices, and she prefers listening to her inner clarity rather than external pressures.

Aishwarya revisited the early days of her acting career, recalling how filmmaker Mani Ratnam influenced her artistic foundation. Before signing her debut film Iruvar, Ratnam had told her that the film was not designed as a “big launch”, but simply as a story that needed to be told. That honesty, she said, drew her toward the project and shaped her approach to cinema—one focused on substance over spectacle.

She also remembered the period after the success of Devdas, when audiences expected her to choose an even grander project. Defying those expectations, she selected Chokher Bali directed by Rituparno Ghosh because she believed deeply in the story. For her, these choices—then and now—are not about predictability but about following meaningful narratives.

The actress expressed immense gratitude for the opportunities she has had and the love she continues to receive from audiences. She described herself as an eternal learner, acknowledging that despite decades in the industry, she still feels she has only scratched the surface of artistic exploration. Her humility, she said, remains central to how she views her craft.

Aishwarya’s presence at the Red Sea Film Festival reaffirmed her unique position in the global entertainment world—an artist who values authenticity, family, and the power of compelling storytelling above all else.