‘No rule book that we are born with’: Aishwarya Rai on motherhood

Yas Island, Abu Dhabi: Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan points out that while women know what is best for their children, there is no set rule book to follow.

On Friday night, the actor and her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan posed on the green carpet of the IIFA Utsavam 2024.

Asked what women who have daughters must keep in mind, Aishwarya told reporters: "You are a mother, you know best.

"We are all human beings, we are not going to sit down and advise each other or share with each other. There's no rule book that we are born with. So you are incredible, you do you." When another reporter began her question referring to Aaradhya, saying "She's always you, she's learning from the best", the actor cut her in the middle with a laugh and said "Whoa! She's my daughter, she's always with me." Aishwarya, who later won the Best Actress (Tamil) award for her performance in Mani Ratnam's "Ponniyin Selvan: II" at the IIFA Utsavam 2024, called the filmmaker her guru.

"I feel very grateful to have had the opportunity to work with Mani Garu on my first movie (1997 Tamil film 'Iruvar'). I feel so honoured that he asked me to be his Nandini in 'Ponniyin Selvan'. I'm glad that today we, as a team, get to enjoy the audience celebrating our film, and how!" she added.

The actor has also worked with Ratnam in Hindi films such as "Guru", and "Raavan", also starring her husband Abhishek Bachchan, and "Raavanan" (in Tamil).

With PTI inputs