Aishwarya Rai is grace under pressure

Bless Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. The dignity she showed as some old wounds opened up qualifies her as the real-life Jodhaa.

Dignity under pressure is a tall order. Lata Mangeshkar, Rekha and Aishwarya are portraits of composure during the most trying of times. They’ve all had their share of discomforting moments. Never have they recoiled, retaliated and caved in.

And yes, their heads haven’t spun around with the giddy aphrodisiac of success. For some strange reason female celebrities are more prone to an absurd upsurge of self-worth than men. I call it the Friday-before-and-after effect. For Mallika Sherawat, I was a mentor before the Friday when Murder released. Then the mentor became the tormentor. Where is Mallika by the way? Last I heard she was getting her extremely well-oiled publicity machinery to spread stories about how she was was heading for various posh assignment in the West. I don’t know how many of those Westward-bound projects actually materialised.

Aeons ago Gregory Peck met Suraiya, who was fascinated by Peck because he resembled her crush Dev Anand. Gerard Butler seemed interested in Priyanka Chopra because she resembles his co-star Katherine Heigl. The more things change (from the era of the aura to the aura of the tacky) the more they remain the same.

Could this be just a coincidence? But all the three main Indian films at the Toronto Film Festival this year are predominantly and entirely female-oriented. So many female-oriented films ... Actresses are finally breaking the myth that films with women at the helm are out of favour. It takes a Lisa Ray to show the world what woman power really means.

It’s strange. We live in a society which still practices female foeticide. And we still worship Durga and Kali. But in the industry it’s the mothers, who have ruled the roost. From Vyjayanthimala’s grandmom to Hema Malini’s mom, today too, Ayesha Takia and Amrita Rao’s mothers are more visible than their fathers. It may be a man’s world outside, but within the industry it’s a matriarchal cosmos.