Aishwarya Rai Touches 'Guru' Mani Ratnam's Feet, Hugs Him Before Presenting Award At IIFA Utsavam (VIDEO)

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan received the Best Actress Award for her performance in the Tamil film Ponniyin Selvan 2 at IIFA Utsavam 2024. Her work on the historical epic has been praised by both critics and fans.

The event was held in Abu Dhabi on Friday (September 27) and the actress graced the award ceremony with her daughter Aaradhya Bachchan. Several pictures and videos from the event have been doing the rounds on social media.

One of the videos, which is now making headlines, shows Aishwarya's respectful gesture towards filmmaker Mani Ratnam. In the clip, the actress is seen touching Mani Ratnam's feet before presenting him the Best Director (Tamil) award for Ponniyin Selvan: II. They also shared a warm hug on stage.

The clip was shared by the official Instagram account of IIFA Utsavam. Take a look:

Soon after the video surfaced, fans were all praise for the duo and they even lauded Aishwarya for her humble gesture.

During the event, the actress was also all praise for the director. While interacting with media persons, she said, "He’s my guru. From the beginning, I’ve been grateful to work with Mani Ratnam. It’s an honor to have played Nandini in Ponniyin Selvan and to share this success with our team."

Mani Ratnam and Aishwarya have worked together in films like Iruvar, Guru, Ponniyin Selvan: I, Ponniyin Selvan: II and Raavan.

For the event, Aishwarya opted for a stunning black Manish Malhotra outfit which had golden thread work.

Besides Aishwarya and Mani Ratnam, Vikram won the Best Actor (Tamil) award for Ponniyin Selvan: II whereas music maestro AR Rahman was honoured for Best Music Direction for the same film.

On the other hand, actor Jayaram took home the Best Performance in a Supporting Role (Male – Tamil) award for Ponniyin Selvan: II.