Has Ash really lost all that pregnancy weight?

Pictures of Bollywood beauty’s first post-pregnancy ad are posted online.

Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is in the spotlight for her weight again — but this time, it’s because she’s reportedly shed her pregnancy pounds and emerged in her first advertisement after giving birth for Kalyan, an Indian jewelry label.

Indian dailies reported that over the past few weeks, Aishwarya has been shooting for a print and TV campaign for the leading South Indian jewelry brand. Images of the ad were recently posted to Kalyan’s Facebook page and boy, does she look stunning! Bathed in a warm golden glow, the actor’s soft golden curls and red lips make her look nothing short of a diva — and we can’t see the post-baby fat! But wait a minute — is it really possible that the starlet, who delivered Beti B Aradhaya on November 16 last year, has lost all that pregnancy weight in a few months?

In case you’ve forgotten, Ash was last photographed in May at the Cannes Film Festival, looking lovely — and rotund — in an Angelo Katsapis maxi dress in the afternoon and later in an Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla sari. The actor has been at the center of a noisy weight-gain controversy, with critics on social media posting about her “oodles of weight”, “double chin” and calling post-delivery photos of the beauty queen “shocking”.

According to a report in the Hindustan Times, some social media write-ups sought to suggest that the star was not taking her weight gain seriously. However, some blogs and tweets too have come out in Aishwarya’s defence, with comments that the focus on her post-pregnancy weight gain was pathetic.

A video compilation of her post-delivery photos had attracted comments like: “She is a Bollywood actress and being a part of showbiz it is her duty to look good and fit. Till now she has been praised for her beauty, so it is only fair that she should also be criticized if she is not able to live up to it.”

This shoot for Kalyan comes almost one year after the last commercial she shot when she was six months pregnant.

Cameraman Kiran Deohans who shot the ad said, “I have got the pleasure of working with Aishwarya on Jodhaa Akbar. Coming back from her post delivery after months and shooting for this commercial, she’s still the same. Even after becoming a mother, she’s a true professional and has the same passion when it comes to her work. Ash is the most beautiful woman I have ever worked with. She always had that sparkling glow on her face before and even after post pregnancy.”

Shrikumar, who shot the commercial for Kalyan, told a daily: “This is my first ad with Ash. What impressed me about her was a passion for detailing.”

Though many fans left appreciative comments on Kalyans’ Facebook page, some are wondering if this is a new (or Photoshopped?) shoot. Did she really just drop all that weight in two months and trim down to this degree?

A source told the Times of India, “Ash did a photo-shoot for a jewellery brand. Having lost oodles of weight, there is a marked glow on her face and she looks even more ravishing now.” Keep it up, Ash!

Published in The Express Tribune, August 8^th, 2012.