Her father, Krishnaraj, was a marine biologist, while her mother, Brindya, is a housewife. He co-produced one of her movies, Dil Ka Rishta (2003). She modelled for Longines watches, Coca-Cola, Lakmé Cosmetics, Casio pager, Philips, Palmolive, Lux, and Fuji films. She continued to model while pursuing her studies in architecture. in the 1994 Miss India contest, she won second place, behind Sushmita Sen, and was crowned Miss India World. Rai made her acting debut in Mani Ratnam’s Tamil biopic film Iruvar (1997), where she worked alongside Mohanlal. The film was a critical success and won many awards, including Best Film award at the Belgrade International Film Festival, and two National Film Awards.
