No one knows quite what to do with Aishwarya Rai. Called “the most beautiful woman in the world” by no less than Julia Roberts, she’s signed a marketing deal with L’Oreal, and her fans describe her as “the perfect woman.” But she’s more than just a beauty; she’s proven herself as a fine actress, both in big Bollywood productions and more serious roles.

Next month, Ms. Rai will get her first big chance to make her name in the United States, when “Bride and Prejudice,” the Jane-Austen-via-Bollywood musical film by “Bend It Like Beckham” director Gurinder Chadha, opens on February 11. But New Yorkers can get an advance peek, as “Bride” is just one of three of Rai projects being released in the next six weeks.

Rai-mania kicks off quietly today with the film, “Raincoat,” opening at the ImaginAsian today. Already this understated drama is being hailed as one of the most moving Indian films of the year. Next week will see the release from Kino on DVD of her Tamil film, “I Have Found It,” a fitting companion to “Bride and Prejudice” in that it is a bubbly musical update of “Sense and Sensibility.”

Ms. Rai was Miss World in 1994, and while Bollywood regularly comes calling for those who win beauty pageants, Ms. Rai’s first film was “Iruvar,” a political drama by Tamil cinema’s critically acclaimed director Mani Ratnam. She couldn’t resist the bright lights for long, however, and soon she was appearing in Sanjay Leela Bansali’s eye-popping Bollywood love story, “Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam.” A Technicolor marvel, the movie is anchored by Ms. Rai’s charismatic performance. Here she resembles nothing so much as a Warner Brothers cartoon of a vamp: enormous, limpid eyes; a grin like a supernova; and a wispish figure.

Her coronation as a superstar happened a few years later, with Mr. Bansali’s follow-up film, “Devdas.” This film is opulent in the extreme, unfolding on sets so enormous they have their own ZIP codes, and starring several of India’s biggest names. When this fabulous monster set box-office records and caused a sensation playing out of competition at Cannes, there was no question Ms. Rai was firmly embedded in the celestial firmament.

Which is about the time Hollywood first came calling. She was approached to be a Bond girl, she signed on to play opposite Meryl Streep in a remake of the French film, “Chaos,” and she sat on the Cannes jury in 2003. But Ms. Rai’s Bond girl negotiations broke down, and the film with Meryl Streep is set to roll only when and if a script is written.

Feeling stifled by Bollywood (where she commands a $90,000 fee for a 20-minute concert performance), Ms. Rai turned into a lightning rod for bad publicity. She is constantly criticized for pricing herself out of the Bollywood market, and the press is still picking over her relationship with Bollywood bad boy Salman Khan.

The volatile Mr. Khan is known for his explosive temper, and during their relationship Ms. Rai appeared on television with a black eye (she claimed that she “fell down the stairs”). Throughout their relationship she publicly denied that Khan was abusive, then – when they broke up – she gave an interview and denied her denial.

Too expensive for Bollywood, too unknown for Hollywood, Ms. Rai has turned out several striking performances in smaller, non-Bollywood pictures. Her performance in the Bengali art film “Choker Bali” is astonishingly subtle, and she and director Rituparno Ghosh teamed up for “Raincoat,” his first Hindi language film.

A songless drama, the movie stars Ajay Devgan as a failed businessman who goes begging for money from ex-classmates and runs into his high school sweetheart. She’s a ghost of her former self, and the two spend a rainy day lying to each other about their failed lives and picking over their now painful memories.

In “I Have Found It,” Ms. Rai is at her giddy best as Meenakshi, the younger sister of the unmarriageable Sowmya. Three suitors, six musical numbers, and three irony-free hours later, everything turns out for the best. The film intoxicates the audience with its light touch and go-for-broke desire to entertain.

It’s hard not to see such a talented, beautiful actress and wish her well. But I hope “Bride and Prejudice” isn’t too successful. India’s film industries specialize in making the kind of passionate entertainments that pre-1950 Hollywood specialized in, and with a thousand films produced each year, they’ve perfected the musical. Ms. Rai is one of her country’s best romantic leads, and it would be a shame to see an actress this talented wearing a bikini, simpering at the feet of a James Bond.

“Raincoat” until January 13 (239 E. 59th Street, between Second and Third Avenues, 212-371-6682).

RENTING RAI

It’s easy to score Bollywood DVDs in New York and almost all of them come with English subtitles. Just head over to 28th Street and Lexington and look for stores with movie posters in the windows, or order from any of a dozen online retailers. An added bonus is that most of the brick and mortar stores carry the gossip magazines like “Filmfare.” Written in English, these magazines redefine “vicious.”

IRUVAR (1997) A box-office flop, but already considered a classic of Indian cinema, this story of motion pictures and politics features Aishwarya Rai’s first performance.

HUM DIL DE CHUKE SANAM (1999) The movie that made Aishwarya Rai a star, this clever romance is everything good about Bollywood, turned up to “11.”

TAAL (1999) Ms. Rai plays a good girl who dances her way to stardom. Her costar is a bit too wet to stand up to her, but the production numbers are so thrillingly original they seem to be beamed in from outer space.

MOHABBATEIN (2000) “Seven Brides for Seven Brothers” meets college comedy in this school-set romance with Ms. Rai in a minor role.

I HAVE FOUND IT (2000) An update of Jane Austen’s “Sense and Sensibility,” this lighter-than-air Tamil musical does Austen proud.

DEVDAS (2002) A movie so gorgeous it hurts. India’s classic love story shot with India’s biggest stars. So overwhelmingly opulent that pregnant mothers and people with heart conditions are advised not to watch.

KUCH NA KAHO (2003) The son of one of India’s most famous directors and the son of India’s most famous star team up with Ms. Rai in this classy, shimmering love story.

CHOKER BALI (2003) Before he made “Raincoat,” Rituparno Ghosh made this art-house period-piece of domestic destruction, starring Ms. Rai as a widow with an axe to grind. “You have desires that can ruin families,” someone hisses at her. Ms. Rai just giggles, and keeps on ruining them.

KHAKEE (2004) A red-blooded throwback to India’s 1970s action films, with a star turn by icon Amitabh Bachchan, Ms. Rai plays a witness to a murder. A movie with happy feet and flying lead.