Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Red Sea Film Festival 2025: 'I’m Quite a Quiet Rebel'
At a sold-out opening-day session in Jeddah, the actor spoke about nearly becoming a doctor, navigating fame, raising her daughter offline and why reinvention still anchors her craft.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan opened the Red Sea Film Festival 2025 with a sold-out conversation that traced her journey from an aspiring doctor to one of Indian cinema’s most recognisable figures. “All my friends who became doctors still tease me that this is where I belong and that I should have become a doctor,” she said. “I had declined films because I knew I was going to become one. I never dreamt I’d be in cinema – but I must confess I’m just at home in this world and in this profession.”
Rai Bachchan credited Mani Ratnam for grounding her early years in the industry. “I was very fortunate to work with my guru. I recognised that here was where I’d get an opportunity to learn a craft I wasn’t trained for,” she said. “My attitude is still one of humility. I feel, ‘oh my God, I haven’t touched the tip of the iceberg’. There is so much to do in the world of artistry and cinema.”
Much of the session turned to themes of womanhood and selfhood. “Women are strong by birth. You are Shakti. You are Devi. You are power,” she said. “We need to be celebrated every minute of our existence.” Speaking of fame, she added: “When I was getting married, pregnant, becoming a mother – my fans engaged with such pure love, even with my daughter. You are a huge part of my empowered experience.”
Her relationship with social media, she suggested, is intentionally restrained. “I’m quite a quiet rebel – I did not want to follow the expected,” she said of her sparse Instagram presence. “I wanted to tell people to liberate themselves from believing this is what you need to feel validated.” She also issued a clarification: “Aaradhya does not have a social media account. All the accounts you see online are not hers.”
Motherhood, she said, defines her life as much as her career. “I’m so busy taking care of Aaradhya, being with Abhishek, that I don’t get insecure if I don’t sign a film. Insecurities have never been a driving force for me.” Cannes, where she first took her daughter at six months old, now feels “like going home”.
As the session closed, she offered a reminder of perspective: “You don’t have to remember me the second we move out of this room. Life isn’t about idolising another human being.”