With songs like “Dola Re Dola”, “Kajra Re” and “Crazy Kiya Re”, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has long been celebrated not only for her acting but also for the grace and command she brings to the tradition of song and dance. A quick look through her filmography reveals a performer who treats dance as an extension of the character she’s portraying. Much of that artistic journey has been shaped by her collaborations with filmmaker Mani Ratnam, beginning with her debut in Iruvar and continuing through films such as Guru. Across these projects, Ratnam consistently highlighted both her acting depth and her expressive physicality. A key creative force behind that collaboration has been renowned choreographer and director Brinda Master, who recently reflected on her experience of working with Aishwarya in a conversation with O2India.
Talking about working with Aishwarya in Guru, Brinda said, “It’s such a gift to have actors like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Abhishek Bachchan. Aishwarya, I am a big fan of hers as a dancer because I was the first choreographer of her in Iruvar. She is already a trained Kathak dancer, I think, and she knows all dance forms. Really, she is so beautiful. She will bring the best as she is very dedicated.”
Brinda Master also recalled her very first meeting with Aishwarya, a moment that predates Iruvar, before the latter had even won the Miss World crown. “I met Aishwarya when I was performing at Filmfare.. At that time, she was not even Miss World yet, I think. She had done an ad, the Pepsi ad and all the boys were crazy about her. When we were rehearsing at Filmfare, she was still a model. She came to me and said, ‘You danced very well.’ I don’t know whether she remembers. She said, ‘You danced very well.’ I was so happy. All the guys were feeling jealous, ‘Oh, master, she praised you. She was not even looking at us.’”
That early exchange, she suggests, was a glimpse of the humility that would later define their professional relationship. Reflecting on choreographing Aishwarya Rai for the song “Kannai Kattikolathey” in Iruvar, Brinda remembered the intensity that marked the shoot. “I still remember that one music piece, she just killed it. She came for the rehearsal, and I even dropped her back at the hotel. I was taking care of her. Then when she came to the set, Mani Ratnam had kept the shot at 5 o’clock in the morning. It was still dark. She had to get up and get ready. She said, ‘Aiyo, aiyo,’ in Tamil, ‘I am going to die. Oh my God, you people are torturing me like this.’ But that one bit, that one music piece, that one shot, the way she performed, she is a fabulous dancer. All the boys, even Mohanlal, couldn’t look anywhere else except but her.”
The song itself was demanding, weaving together multiple dance styles, a challenge that, according to Brinda, Aishwarya embraced with ease. “In the song itself, we had about four different styles. First was the Chaplin style, more inspired from an old actor called Nagesh. He was such a great actor, and we wanted that kind of feel. Then we had a typical rain style, with lots of background dancers, more shaking movements, more expressive, playful energy. Then we had a completely different clap-based style. So within that one song itself, we used about four different dance styles. It was very nice because we could give so many variations. And Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is that kind of dancer, she can pick up any style.”
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