Aishwarya Rajesh is winning hearts! Each time she posts her pics on social media pages, fans seem to shower it with comments and likes.
Recently, one of her post went viral after a fan made a shocking comment. The Instagram user wrote that she's Aishwarya's die-hard fan from Tirupur in Tamil Nadu and would die for her.
Aishwarya made a sensible reply saying that life is not to die for others.
Aishwarya Rajesh has so far acted in Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam and Hindi films and carved her own niche in the industry. With her dusky skin and non-film background, Aishwarya had always been grounded before her fans and followers.
It was in a recent TedX talk at IIM Trichy that the actor opened up about her initial, struggling years, the troubles she faced, including death of her brothers, rejection from directors and harassment. The video was uploaded on May 22.
The challenging childhood
Aishwarya Rajesh grew up in a housing board in Chennai. She lost her father at the age of 8 and her uneducated mother had to step up to bring up her four children.
Aishwarya was the youngest of four siblings and the only girl. Her mother, she says with great affection, didn’t know any English or Hindi but would travel to Mumbai and procure sarees that she would sell to her family and friends' circles in Chennai. Over the years, she also became an LIC agent and dabbled in real estate. “Even now, she tries selling LIC policy to my co-stars,” Aishwarya says with a laugh.
However, the family's journey wasn't easy at all. Aishwarya’s eldest brother died when she was around 12. He was in a relationship and the family still does not know if he killed himself or was murdered, she says. Within a short period, her second brother also passed away in a road accident. Her mother was severely affected by the two deaths and Aishwarya had to grow up rather quickly to manage the family.
First job for Rs 225
Aishwarya said that her first job was to promote a chocolate brand outside a supermarket. She was only in Class 11 when she started this job, which paid her Rs 225. She also began anchoring at events like birthday parties and other functions. Realising that the money wasn't enough for the family, she began acting in TV serials for which she was paid Rs 1,500 a day. And thus, she decided to jump into cinema.
Not being 'heroine material'
Aishwarya's journey wasn't easy at all. She started approaching film companies and got a role in a movie, Avargalum Ivargalum, which did not do well. "In cinema, we always hear only one thing, which is sexual harassment. Everywhere there is sexual harassment. But it was not only sexual harassment, but also my colour, my complexion, my personality, the way I look....May be, they didn't take me because I was talking in Tamil. It happens in our Tamil film industry." She said she was criticised for her colour, looks and personality and the way she carried herself. She was told by directors that she wasn't 'heroine material'.
She got a break with director Pa Ranjith’s Attakathi, where she had a memorable role, but it was with Kaaka Muttai that she became well-known. Playing the mother of two young boys in a slum, Aishwarya says that the shoot gave her a lot of insights. But despite getting critical acclaim, the actor did not really bag movies with big stars.
That’s when she did Kanaa where she played the hero herself. And post that film, Aishwarya managed to get many movies. She had movitvating words for everyone by saying, “I have struggled by myself all my life and if I can do it, anybody can do it.”
