Jeddah [Saudi Arabia], December 5 (ANI): Bollywood actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan impressed the audience with her graceful presence at the Red Sea Film Festival 2025. She candidly spoke about the choices she has made throughout her long-standing career, noting that 'insecurity has never been the driving force' behind them.

Rai Bachchan, who began her film career with Mani Ratnam's 'Iruvar' after winning Miss World 1994, said she has always approached her projects with clarity and conviction rather than fear of judgment.

'I don't get insecure. That's a real aspect of who I am,' Aishwarya said during a conversation at the Red Sea Film Festival 2025. 'Insecurity has never been the driving force, which a lot of voices around can try and get into your head and sometimes propel choices. That is something that has never been me. That's clarity in all my career choices, unknowingly but now in retrospect, I display from the beginning', she added, as quoted by Gulf News.

Aishwarya also revisited her decision to take on Rituparno Ghosh's 'Chokher Bali' after the grandeur of 'Devdas', despite expectations of another large-scale project. 'I did Choker Bali after reaching a crescendo with Devdas with Ritupurno Ghosh. I was like, wow, what a beautiful story. That's the movie I want to do...'

Rai Bachchan said her approach also extends to social media, where she maintains a minimal and deliberate presence. Reflecting on her limited online activity, she said, 'So evidently, to those who have visited my one and only social media engagement platform, it's almost been quite shy, like and basic... I'm quite a quiet rebel there. And I was like, no, I'm certainly not going to follow the expected... I kind of wanted to set an example, but make a statement of telling people to liberate yourself from fooling yourself into believing that this is what you need to feel validated,' as per the outlet.

Rai Bachchan also spoke about how winning Miss World at 21 shaped her global perspective.

'Being a part of the Miss World contest was incidental ... I didn't perceive it as a beauty pageant or a title. I interestingly looked upon it as an opportunity to possibly represent the Indian woman internationally... 'It amazed me how less informed a large part of the world was about Indian people, or the Indian woman at the time and where we were as a people,' she said. 'Some of the questions still seem so archaic, even to the extent of inquiries about the education system, about the geography of the country, about whether it was still a world with tigers and snake charmers,' she said during the conversation.

Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on Thursday set the internet on fire with her stunning pictures from the ongoing Red Sea Film Festival in Saudi Arabia. The 'Devdas' star arrived at the festival wearing a stunning black dress. A while ago, she took to Instagram and treated her fans to her ravishing pictures. Aishwarya donned a simple black gown with a striking emerald-green pendant. She styled her hair in soft curls with a side part, a refreshing change from her usual straight, middle-parted look. (ANI)