Aishwarya Rai

Bollywood's Beauty, Crossover Catalyst

Aishwarya Rai gets the sort of web adulation that even Britney Spears might envy. The 17,000 sites in her honor include poetry sites, a "Hindu shrine" site, even a site dedicated to her eyes (which she wants to leave to science when she dies). "She deserves to be pampered with roses, smothered with caresses; iridescent as the moon, she is life, body, soul and, yes, heart," reads one paean from a fan. For billions more, from Kabul to Kuala Lumpur, "Ash" is the most recognized female face in Bollywood, as the Indian film industry (the world's largest) is widely known. Now...

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