Kollywood's busy actress Aishwarya Rajesh shared the video of her speech in twitter page that she gave in a Tedx event held in IIM Trichy (Indian Institute of Management Trichy) back in Jan 11th 2020.

A TEDx event is a local gathering where live TED-like talks and performances are shared with the community. TEDx events are fully planned and coordinated independently, on a community-by-community basis. The event had six speakers including Aishwarya speak on the theme ‘Colour Beyond The Lines’. Joining the actress was entrepreneur Sidd Ahmed, ethical hacker Sai Satish, geologist Mohan Shanmugam, social entrepreneur Chandrashekaran and civil servant Sibichen Mathew.

In the video, she talks about her journey from being a lower-middle-class girl in a slum housing board in Chennai to becoming one of the most sought after stars in the Indian film industry.

The star’s life hasn’t been a bed of roses. From witnessing two tragic events at a very young age to being a victim of sexual harassment and colourism, the actress explains how she rose through it all.

She said “I was from a lower middle class family. From a place where people call it slum. I lived in a housing board apartment, along with my 3 brothers and parents. When I was 8, my father passed away. It was my mother who took care of all of us. She is a very strong and bold person. She never made us feel like we missed our father.”

“When I was 11 or 12 years old, my eldest brother passed away. We were horrified after his death. A year or year and a half later, my other brother died in a road accident too. This phase of my life was very emotional. We had no one to support our family.”

“Later, I got offers to work in Serials, but the pay was really less for the amount of work I was to do. That’s when my mom told me I had to go work in films if I wanted a better pay. I started looking for movie opportunities, to support my family. I also had a dance background, as I won a Dance reality show.”

“One problem I faced in the cinema industry is the Colour. My color and complexion was a problem for some people. I didn’t know to dress like all the North Indian actresses. That was a problem. Some people even rejected me because I spoke Tamil.”

“Some directors offered me the role of a lady love of comedians. I didn’t want that. A good character role was my dream. I did a small role in ‘Attakathi’. Audience really liked that performance. ‘Kaaka Muttai’ was the movie that shaped up my career.”

Facing all the hurdles in her life all alone, Aishwarya Rajesh said “Nobody supported me, trust me. Nobody believed in me. I supported myself. I believed in myself. That’s what made me who I am.”

The ‘Kanaa’ actress also added “I have faced all sorts of criticisms and problems in my life - including Sexual Harassments and abuses. I am bold enough to give it back to the abusers. I want all women to be that way.”

Her learning experiences, the courage she imbibed from her mother, the difficult transition from a critically acclaimed film like Kaakka Muttai, where the actress took up the role of a mother, to a women-centric film like Kanaa and the undying confidence she had in herself… she speaks about it all leaving one feeling bittersweet.

My journey to success | Aishwarya Rajesh | TEDxIIMTrichy