Aishwarya Rai recently attended the Dubai for the Global Women’s Forum event in the UAE. While her compassionate speech about women’s empowerment made headlines worldwide, what caught the attention of many fans was that she was introduced simply as Aishwarya Rai at the event. There was no Bachchan, even in the graphic on stage, to denote her as the speaker. Given the rumours about her separation from Abhishek Bachchan, this has led to a lot of gossip on social media forums.
A screengrab of Aishwarya’s speech at the Dubai event was shared on Reddit on Thursday, November 28. It showed her standing before a giant graphic denoting her as ‘Aishwarya Rai – International Star’. The post’s caption read, “Aishwarya Has Removed Bachchan from her official name?”
Many were convinced that it was indeed the case, and it confirmed the separation rumours. “She kind of looks happy here and it’s almost like so much weight has been removed from her heart and own self,” read one comment. Others supported her for the step. One wrote, “She was always THE Aishwarya Rai to me. Bachchan who? She looked absolutely stunning at the event BTW – perfect hair and makeup. This is what happens when you get rid of a disrespectful daddy boy.”
However, many debated against jumping to conclusions, arguing that it could be just a goof-up on the part of the event organisers. “Meanwhile the intern who skipped her surname cause there wasn’t enough space is shi**ing bricks right now,” quipped one Redditor. Another added, “It’s still there on her IG (Instagram)? I think it would really set things straight once she removes it from IG.” Aishwarya still goes by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on her Instagram.
Rumors of a fallout or separation between Aishwarya and Abhishek began when she and daughter Aaradhya arrived separately at Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding earlier this year. The rest of the Bachchan family arrived later, even though everyone was seated together. When the Bachchans did not wish Aishwarya on her birthday – November 1 – on social media, it added more fuel to the rumours. The entire Bachchan clan, including Aishwarya, has maintained a stoic silence on the rumours.
Aishwarya was seen in Mani Ratnam’s Ponniyin Selvan films, released in 2022 and 2023. Abhishek’s most recent film – I Want To Talk – was released last Friday in theatres.
Talks about street harassment
Aishwarya Rai has spoken up about street harassment and how to tackle it. Taking to Instagram, Aishwarya posted a video as part of L’Ore´al Paris’ new campaign. She is the brand ambassador of the beauty product.
In the video, Aishwarya said, “Street harassment. How do you deal with it? Avoid eye contact? No. Look the problem directly in the eyes. Hold your head high. Feminine and feminist. My body, my worth. Never compromise your worth. Do not doubt yourself. Stand up for your worth. Don’t blame your dress or your lipstick. Street harassment is never your fault.”
She captioned the post, “On this International Day for the elimination of violence against women, join @lorealparis’s Stand Up against street harassment training program. We’re all worth it. @lorealparis.” She also added the hashtag–We Stand Up.
Reacting to the post, a fan said, “Wow, Aishwarya, you are the most inspirational and powerful woman.” A comment read, “The icon of Beauty with Brain.” An Instagram user said, “Thank you, queen, we needed this.” A person said, “Well said. Proud of you fighting for a cause which has been of grave concern for women and the society.”