The Reigning Royale

Ipshita Sur

The Reigning Royale

The enchantress who's not only an exceptional diva in Bollywood, but whose love letter has reached the hearts of millions of audience through her innocence and outstanding performances; it's not just kabhi kabhi, but always for you, Aditi.

Aditi Rao Hydari with her formidable pillars of support; Image Source: ETV Bharat

“Woh dekhne mein kaisi seedhi-saadi lagti

Hai bolti ki woh toh kuch nahi samajhti

Andar se kitni tez hai”

Lyrics perfectly delineated by Ali Zafar that hail our today’s grandee. Her presence in Bollywood still counts as a recent event, but the corollary left by each of her performances marooned the minds of the audience for years. Yes, we are talking about the ravishing belle of not only Bollywood but the Tamil film industry, who’s now leading a well-crafted career peak as one of the most desired actresses of Netflix. A royal by name, a queen of her forte- Aditi Rao Hydari.

Though the viewers have already been acquainted with her imperial name, the lineage itself speaks schism to the religious feuds. Her father, Ehsaan Hydari, was the son of Prime Minister of Hyderabad (when India was under the dominance of the British), Muhammad Saleh Akbar Hyadri, and her mother, Vidya Rao, is the descendant of Raja J. Rameshwar Rao, a Wanaparthi Samsthanam. Her distinguished heritage doesn’t end there. Her mother is the cousin of Aamir Khan’s former wife, Kiran Rao.

Aditi Rao Hydari, the name you won’t usually hear in huge controversies that B-Town holds up high as a norm, and ideally, that’s something scraping her off as unique. Her style statements from traditional to western, Boho to Chic, have become the headlines of many fashion magazines.

We, here, send the actress a large bouquet of warm wishes and prayers of her success on her birthday. As much as I love to dance on the groovy numbers of her films, may she finds her way dancing on upcoming blockbusters.

She took a leap from big screens to OTT platforms in 2021. Directed by Ribhu Dasgupta, the actress impressed the audience in The Girl on the Train, a suspense thriller based of Paula Hawkins’ book with the same title.

The most impactful character, in my opinion, that took Aditi Rao Hydari’s staging to a pristine crest was the role of Priya in Geeli Puchchi segment of Ajeeb Dastaans. It’s considered to be the most praised of all the series in the anthology film. The short film highlighted the underlying discrepancy of caste, sexuality and clashes of ambition due to class distinction. Konkona Sen Sharma’s Bharti suffered from failed expectations for her being a representative of Dalit group, whereas Priya was from a comparatively privileged Brahmin background. Though a friendship blossoms between the two, it didn’t stay true for long. Soon, it was revealed that Bharti was the only genuine companion. Priya’s mixed brew of confusion, guilt, timidity and glee snatched the spotlight and hopefully, proposals of many more similar projects in future.

She is a proud Hyderabadi regardless of her years devoted in Delhi after her parents’ split. She is an alumnus of the college enlisting its name in the top five under Delhi University, and the bests of India- Lady Shri Ram College. She acquired her bold streak from her mother, who established herself as a business woman in Delhi.

Aditi's remark of her precious surnames, “I want to keep both, my mom has brought me up, but my father is also a part of me”, speaks of an amalgam of her admiration and respect towards both of her parents; especially sculpting a silent remembrance of her father.

Aditi Rao Hydari embarked her fame in the colossal stage as a Bharatnatyam dancer under the tutelage of Leela Samson. Her fearless slections of feature films began from her very first, Sringaram, a film based on a temple dancer, a devadasi, in the 19th century. The ravishing charm of Aditi didn’t merely enthralled the director, Sharada Ramanathan, but also a huge row of audience in the international film awards, fetching three of the National Awards.

Her grihapravesh in Bollywood was offered by Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra through his Delhi 6, where she was proffered the role of a spinster thriving her way amidst the traditional observance of a society considering marriage to be a pious moment in every woman’s “well led” life. In spite of Delhi 6 getting known for Sasural Genda Phool and her other two co-stars, Abhishek Bachchan and Sonam Kapoor, her minimal role grabbed the attention of the spectators as well.

She was subsequently approached for Yeh Saali Zindagi, and was shown as a madcap reporter in Imtiaz Ali’s Rockstar. Due to the trimming of most her screen presence, she issued the statement of desiring lead roles rather than being a supporting actor.

This made Anu Menon call her for the lead in London, Paris, New York next to Ali Zafar. She became a pleasing ‘fresh face’ of the B-town and much like her film, in the critic's opinion, “She will be going places”

Eventually, she voyaged through numerous box office hits such as Murder 3, Boss and Guddu Rangeela.

Her next big screen presence was in **Wazir (**2016), alongside Amitabh Bachchan and Farhan Akhtar. Her performance was best described by Abhijit Bhaduri of The Times of India, “Despite the lack of focus on her character, she did justice to her part by ‘conveying stuff with eyes’”

We can say that she can be the official franchise of ‘Eyes Chico, they never lie’

Next she landed on the grand sets of Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Padmaavat. The film was no doubt full of controversies, which played the role of its promotion majorly. She was portrayed as Princess Mehrunisa, the wife of Alauddin Khilji. Who can be better suited for the role of a princess, than a princess!