Aishwarya Rai turns 49: Iconic ads of the green-eyed beauty

When Aishwarya Rai first blazed into the scene, India was mesmerised by her screen presence and beauty. The year was 1993 and it was a Pepsi commercial where she played "Sanjana", a red-lipped femme fatale. Everyone and their brother wanted to know who this mysterious beauty was.

A year later, in 1994, she brought laurels to the country by winning the Miss World pageant. Since then, there was no stopping her, having ruled silver screens to red carpets with her beauty and charisma.

Apart from showcasing her acting chops, Aishwarya also became the first Bollywood star to have her wax statue made at Tussauds. She is also the first Indian actress to become a jury member at Cannes Festival. More recently, she has been lauded for her performance in Mani Ratnam's Ponniyin Selvan 1.

November 1st is her 49th birthday. On this occasion, we revisit some of her iconic ads.

Pepsi

This ad was the talk of the town for ages. Aishwarya's iconic delivery of "Hi, I am Sanjana', got another Pepsi?" had viewers floored. Fun fact: The ad is believed to be the reason why many girls born in 1993 were named Sanjana.

Lakme Nail Polish

This Lakme ad with Aishwarya was a fresh take on what it meant to be a confident modern Indian woman in the early 90s. The ad features a montage of shots with Aishwarya in many moods set a version of Roxette's hit "She's got the look."

Titan Quartz

Believed to be Aishwarya's second ad, this Titan Quartz ad showed her in an Indian avatar, a far cry from her sensuous red lipstick look in the Pepsi commercial. She plays an Indian wife who is delighted to receive a Titan watch from her husband on the occasion of Diwali.

Colgate

While her eyes have long been believed to be her most defining feature, this Colgate ad capitalised on her dazzling perfect smile. The 1995 ad was shot post her Miss World fame and featured some of her childhood pictures in the background.

Eye Donation ad

Who could forget this iconic ad from The Eye Bank Association of India? The campaign leveraged Aishwarya's popularity and iconic eyes to raise awareness about eye donation, a concept which was relatively unknown in India in the 90s.

Coca-Cola

This quirky ad from the early 2000s shows Aishwarya tackling a bunch of eve teasers. Viewers got to see her in a quirky avatar.