Aishwarya Rajesh has never shied away from speaking about her struggles in interviews. In a TedX talk at IIM Trichy, the actress speaks about her challenging childhood.
She speaks of her family background and how she lost two brothers while growing up. These events pushed her mother into a shell, and Aishwarya had to grow up rather quickly to manage the family.
However, she had big dreams and eventually got into reality TV shows where she even won a popular dance contest. When she realised that TV serial actors only got paid well if they had a film background, she decided to jump into cinema.
However, the journey was far from smooth. Aishwarya recalls that she faced all kinds of obstacles – from sexual harassment to cruel comments on her looks and personality. Ironically, her ability to speak Tamil was considered a disadvantage in the film industry, she says.
While her first film Avargalum Ivargalum didn’t do well, Aishwarya was keen that she would act as the lead and not do the small roles that she was offered. 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 with Arunraja Kamaraj, she says, deciding that she would play the hero herself. In the film, Aishwarya is a young woman who is determined to become a cricketer.
“I have struggled by myself all my life,” says the actor, encouraging the audience to never give up.
News Credit: The News Minute
