When Aishwarya Rai revealed the only time in her life that she 'really cried' was in school

Aishwarya Rai said she was always a good student, but the only time she ‘really cried’ in her life was during her school days. Here's how her parents reacted.

In an old interview, Aishwarya Rai spoke about feeling 'really hurt' once during her school days and having 'a huge ego blow'. She recalled being a topper and how 'everybody thought she’d top the ICSE board exams', but she came seventh or eighth in her class. Aishwarya said that was the only time in her life that she 'really cried'.

Aishwarya Rai has been promoting her upcoming film Ponniyin Selvan: I.

Aishwarya, who was crowned Miss World in 1994, made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam's 1997 Tamil film Iruvar and had her first Hindi film release, Aur Pyaar Ho Gaya co-starring Bobby Deol, that same year. In a 2000 interview, Aishwarya spoke about being a head girl in school and having an ‘achiever’ kind of aura around her.

She said in an interview to Rediff, 'I’ve always been a good student. I’ve always got a first rank except for my seventh grade mid-term when I stood second. I was head girl and was good at co-curricular activities. There was this ‘good girl,’ this ‘achiever’ kind of aura around me. I’m not saying I was egoistic, but there was a certain level of confidence in me. My parents never pushed me, but it was taken for granted because I always came first. It never was a big issue for me to get the first rank. When I came to the 10th grade, my seniors, my juniors, everybody thought I’d top the ICSE board exams. But I came seventh or eighth in class and that was a huge ego blow. That’s when it hurt. It really hurt because I had not valued my first rank until then."

Aishwarya further spoke about how her my parents and friends helped her cope, and said, "I realised it was an ego thing. I got into Jai Hind and I did my 12th grade in Ruparel eventually. My percentage was not poor, but it was only a trivial ego thing. Although I came eighth, there was only a 0.5 percent difference between the girls. It was then that I realised I was trying to live up to other people’s expectations and not my own. I’d never set any goals for myself. That was the only time in my life that I really cried. Thankfully, I had my parents and friends who kind of put things in perspective for me. Then came the 12th and I got 90 per cent in my PCB, which was not that great. I would not get into Bombay's medical colleges, although, for architecture, it was a very good percentage. But I took it better this time."

Aishwarya was last seen in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan: I (2022). The period film also featured Vikram, Trisha, Jayam Ravi and Karthi, among others. She will soon be seen in Ponniyin Selvan: 2, which will be released on April 28.