Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan credits late filmmaker Yash Chopra as a major reason why she stepped into the film industry, and says he will always remain special to her. “Yashji is very special to me because he is one of the reasons that I am in the film industry.

He is one of the main reasons because he is the one who kept talking to me for two years before I joined the industry, to convince me,” the 39-year-old said here Wednesday at Childrens’ Day celebrations with kids from NGO Magic Bus.

“He always used to tease me, he used to say become an architect, design my sets and then you will definitely come in front of the camera, I’ll see to it. So he is just such a special person even to me,” she added.

Aishwarya, who worked in Yash Raj Films’ (YRF) “Mohabbatein” and “Dhoom 2″, says she shared a very personal relationship with the filmmaker, who passed away Oct 21, following dengue and subsequent multi-organ failure.

“Today, of course, I am married to Abhishek (Bachchan) and part of the family and he (Yashji) used to say that ‘Ab toh tum bahu ban gayi ho’ (Now you are like my daughter-in-law), so that is how personal it was. He has a very special place in my heart and my life,” she said. Aishwarya also featured in the hit item number “Kajra re” from the YRF film “Bunty Aur Babli”.