As Aishwariya Rai Bachan celebrated her 36th Birthday, BollyCurry takes a look at her rise to fame and uncovers some interesting facts you may not know about the actress in our first Celebs in The Spotlight 

 

Nickname: Gullu 

 

It may have been Caimlin Pencils that gave Aish her first break in modelling (in the 9th grade no less!), but it was the Garden Sari and Pepsi ads that placed the green-blue-eyed beauty firmly in the limelight and led to a torrent of offers from filmmakers, all of which she initially refused as she had her sights set on being an architect.

 

But destiny had other plans and with the titles of Runner-up Miss India and Miss World 1994 securely under her belt; Aishwariya stormed through Indian Cinema and although she did not actually start off at the peak of talent or success in terms of delivering blockbusters, her growth has been steady, consistent and wide spread - so much, that Aish has been an unprecedented paradigm of bringing international fame and recognition home to tinsel town.