Actor Aishwarya Rai will make another acting comeback with the upcoming two-part historical epic Ponniyin Selvan, but family remains her first priority. Perhaps the term ‘comeback’ is inappropriate then for the sort of arrangement she’s eyeing, which doesn’t involve a full-fledged return to films.
In an interview with The Times of India on the sidelines of the recent IIFA awards in Abu Dhabi, she said that ‘it was a pleasure working with’ director Mani Ratnam again, and that she has completed work on both parts of Ponniyin Selvan, which appears to have been shot back-to-back.
She also spoke about potentially reuniting with her husband Abhishek Bachchan on the big screen. The two previously worked together on several films including Mani Ratnam’s own Guru and Raavan. She said that ‘it should happen’, but that her ‘priority’ is still her family and her daughter, Aaradhya. “I braved and stepped out to complete Mani sir’s Ponniyin Selvan, but that doesn’t change my focus for my family and Aaradhya,” the actor said. Aishwarya’s last big screen outing was 2018’s Fanney Khan, a box office disappointment starring Anil Kapoor and Rajkummar Rao. Prior to that, she starred in 2016’s Sarbjit and Ae Dil Hai Mushkil. Abhishek also went on an acting sabbatical for a couple of years, but seems to have reemerged in full force. His output in the last few years includes films such as Ludo, The Big Bull, Bob Biswas and Dasvi, and the streaming series Breathe: Into the Shadows.
