Aishwarya gets French honourBollywood actress Aishwarya Rai was Thursday conferred upon a civilian
award by the French government for her contribution to the arts on the
occasion of her birthday.
Francois Richier, ambassador of France
to India, conferred the honour of prestigious 'Knight of the Order of
Arts and Letters' on her at a hotel here.
On receiving the award,
Aishwarya said: "I want to thank the French government for honouring me
with the award. It's truly overwhelming. I thank you in all humility."
She thanked her family for their support and expressed her gratitude towards her colleagues.
"I
want to thank every professional who I have worked with and who made it
possible for me to have such a glorious career," she said.
The
Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters honour is given to people who
have shown exceptionable contribution to arts in France and the rest of
the world.
In the past, noted celebrities like Shah Rukh Khan and Nandita Das received the honour.
The entire Bachchan family, except Jaya Bachchan, were present at the event. Aishwarya's daughter Aradhaya was also there.
Besides
her family, actress Nandita Das, Parmeshwar Godrej and filmmaker
Pritish Nandy were also present on the occasion among others.
Aishwarya turned 39 Thursday, so a cake cutting ceremony was also organised for her.
After
winning the Miss World crown in 1994, Aishwarya debuted as an actress
in Mani Ratnam's 1997 Tamil movie "Iruvar". Later she did Hindi movies
like "Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam"," Guru", "Jodhaa Akhbar" and "Devdas".
Aishwarya gets French honour
