Aishwarya Rai Bachchan won the Miss World 1994 pageant, and 30 years later, her beauty still sings. In director Mani Ratnam’s adaptation of the beloved Ponniyin Selvan novels, the story is anchored by Nandini, played by Rai Bachchan as a woman wounded into villainy, whose heart still beats for young love yanked away. Her beauty lent her screen presence a devotional ardour, with golden lighting and a creamy halo that accompanies her. It is unsurprising that Ratnam would pivot the story towards Nandini, because Rai Bachchan brings such a mystical air to the character and proceedings, it feels like a vengeful, yearning spirit haunting the whole story.
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