Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been a regular face at the prestigious Cannes film festival while celebrities like Saif Ali Khan, Sonam Kapoor walked the red carpet of Cannes for the first time. Promoting his film, ‘Aarakshan’ at Cannes, Saif said that making an appearances at Cannes is a honor but representing individually is fruitless. Taking a dig at the Bachchan bahurani Ash, the chotte nawab said that Ash has been a common face of Cannes because she is a pretty face.

Now referring any actors for his or her beauty and not for his talents is something that no one would like. This statement of Saif is enough to rage Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Saif feels it is important to showcase Indian cinema there.

“I feel that, generally speaking, we make different kinds of films, there are commercial movies and there are also a lot of filmmakers who make arty movies and they should be competing here,” Saif quoted as saying.

He thinks Cannes is a global platform to exchange and share ideas.

“In my opinion, the ideal reason for going to Cannes would be to showcase a movie, but you can rent space also. The best way to be here is to have a film competing in the festival. According to me these international film festivals are about different members and stars from various countries getting together,” Saif said.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan completes a decade of association with the prestigious Cannes Film Festival this year. Ever since Ash walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival, she has been under the scanner for her choice of outfits, hair and make-up. We take a look at Ash’s Cannes journey so far…

Aishwarya Rai made her first appearance at Cannes in 2002 to promote Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Devdas, wearing a golden yellow sari. It looks like she was hit by a gold rush and the loud make up just made it worse.

She is one of the most beautiful women in the world and once again she shined on the red carpet. We are talking, of course, of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. She was there as brand ambassador for L’Oréal Paris and Cyril Chapuy, Global Brand President said, “It means a lot to L’Oréal Paris to celebrate those wonderful years of collaboration with Aishwarya on the Cannes red carpet this year. It has been years of glamour, infinite beauty but above all, sincere respect and mutual admiration. A true match, as we sometimes say at L’Oréal.”

Aishwarya said, “Being at Cannes for L’Oreal Paris has been an absolute pleasure and to experience this for the tenth consecutive year is overwhelming. It is one of the most glamourous red carpets on the world platform, celebrating cinema, showbiz, beauty, diversity and excellence.”

Have a look at these EXCLUSIVE shots of the actress!

Bollywood’s A-list actresses, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Vidya Balan will be handing out backstage passes into the glitzy and glamourous world of the showbiz industry with their next releases titled; Heroine and The Dirty Picture.
However, Aish and director Madhur Bhandarkar are one step ahead with their film Heroine, which has already been launched at the Cannes Film Festival, and what better place to create awareness than at an international event? The film is said to be an entertaining, daring, emotional, shocking, glamorous, scandalous behind-the-scenes look at the reality of the showbiz world. The buzz is that the movie is based on the real life story of America’s pop and cultural icon, Marilyn Monroe, however the Heroine team begs to differ and says it’s a story of a Bollywood star.
Film marker Madhur Bhandarkar, who is known for his female orientated movies having previously worked with some of Bollywood’s top actresses, Tabu, Konkana Sen Sharama, Bipasha Basu and Priyanka Chopra, was asked why has he opted out for Aishwarya this time to be his lucky mascot? At the Cannes film festival he told the press, “Rai is a much-talked about actress internationally and I think she truly is a global star in every sense.”
On the other hand, director Milan Luthna has decided to cast the recent award winning actress, Vidya Balan in the movie, The Dirty Picture. Rumour has it that the movie will have elements of soft porn incorporated, however the director has reassured Vidya she will not be presented in a cheap manner, but shown in an aesthetically artistic and sensual manner with a touch of class.
In the meantime, Vidya has been asked to study the English films, Burlesque and Chicago – even the big stars in Bollywood have homework to do!
So which movie are you looking forward to watching?

There are two films being made on heroines and their lives. One is The Dirty Picture which has Vidya Balan in the lead and the other is Heroine that stars Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in the lead role.

While Vidya essays a Silk Smitha-type character in Milan Luthria’s film, the second sees Ash playing the role of a superstar whose career is fading away in the Madhur Bhandarkar directed flick.

Now both directors have stepped up their pace to ensure that their project goes on the floor as soon as possible. Madhur wants to release the film after Ra.One while Milan is working with Sanjay Dutt and Ajay Devgn.

Befitting the Bachchan dynasty pomp and splendor, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan chose the most prestigious global platform – Cannes Film Festival 2011 – to announce her new film project ‘Heroine’!

On Friday the 13th, Aishwarya Rai attended a photo call at the Majestic Beach Pier to announce her new film ‘Heroine’ – a tale of a fictional Bollywood star!

Director Madhur Bhandarkar and producer UTV Group Chairman Ronnie Screwala joined the 37-year-old Bollywood diva, who was dressed in a plain brown outfit –sans any glamour- after two previous absolutely stunning evening gowns; none-the-less, flattering her figure and complementing her brunette hair. Rai paired the dress with black strappy sandals as she posed for the cameras on the dock.

Contradicting the general belief, Aishwarya confirmed that ‘Heroine’ is “not an autobiography, for sure.”

Elaborating further, she added, “that’s what the viewer will probably be searching for, but very honestly, as an actor, it’s your professional responsibility to give to your characters, with absolute commitment.

“It’s not just about you going there and doing your own thing and creating your own character. It’s the director who wrote it and that’s the way it gets read and that’s the way it gets eventually brought to life.”

Ronnie Screwala, though, enticed the audience with his remark: “when you see the movie finally, you will know that it was written only with someone as talented and expressive and stunning as Aishwarya in mind”.

The production company UTV Group claims that ‘Heroine’ is an “entertaining, daring, emotional, shocking, glamorous, scandalous behind-the-scenes account of the reality behind the world of glitz and glamour that our stars inhabit.”

‘Heroine’ is slated to go on floors in June; however, the release date for the flick is not decided yet.

It’s the first time that I am attending the Cannes International Film Festival and though I’ve always heard about it, it’s not until you step on the red carpet here that the enormity of the event engulfs you.

The place is abuzz with people so passionate about their cinema that you automatically feel a part of it, even if it’s your first time.

What I will be wearing has never been so detailed, but this time around, I wore a tuxedo for the dinner event. Earlier in the day, Ronnie (Screvwala) and I had launched our film Heroine, starring Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan and the response was phenomenal.

It was really something that took me by surprise and I was overwhelmed with the kind of curiosity that the promos created.

Rai is a much-talked about actress internationally and I think she truly is a global star in every sense.

What I was then looking forward to was meeting some of the greats in international cinema, people whose works have inspired me to become a filmmaker in the first place — filmmakers like Woody Allen and actors like Robert De Niro. Penelope Cruz is also an actress that I was looking forward to meeting, I’ve liked several of her films.

But more than anything else I was soaking in the experience that the festival had to offer. I have been to many film festivals before, but this one took the cake when it came to grandeur and glamour.

What had me equally excited was the strong presence of Bollywood there this time around. People were aware of our cinema and it made me so proud to be there, talking about our cinema just as proudly as anyone from Hollywood or any other world cinema would.

I realised that we offer a rather unique kind of cinema, but then that’s also our strength. How many can try and do it as successfully after all? It is also inspiring for filmmakers to make films that can generate a buzz internationally, especially the Indie-filmmakers.

Actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s red carpet appearance at the Cannes this year is a rather special affair for the Bollywood beauty, as it marks a decade of her attending the international film festival. But call her a Cannes veteran, and she laughs it off! “I have a lot of decades to go before you can call me that,” she’d joked earlier. And those close to the star admit that Ash’s obviously excited and is looking forward to catching up on some good pals including fellow endorser Hollywood’s Eva Longoria, with whom she’d walked the red carpet in the past.

At the time of going to press, the actor was expected to kickstart her evening yesterday by attending Woody Allen’s romantic comedy Midnight in Paris, which is also the opening film at the festival. Post which she was expected to be hobnobbing with several international stars including the renowned filmmaker at the highlight of the day, the opening Gala cocktail, which is also one of the main attractions of the festival, followed by the dinner party to host Woody’s film. Today, the actor will be announcing her film Heroine with Madhur Bhandarkar, before she takes to the red carpet again with Longoria for the big party hosted by her brand later in the evening.

Apparently, the actor has turned down several dinner invitations later in the festival to return home. The source adds, “Aishwarya’s not much into partying and networking for work there. She is going to be sticking to her professional commitments and will be flying out soon after. It’s going to be a hectic two-day affair for her, as there’s always a keen interest in her work.” All eyes will be riveted on what Aishwarya decides to wear on the red carpet this year around as well. “She’s been getting better every year,” points out an industry observer.

Three Indian beauties and brand ambassadors of L’Oreal Paris— Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor and Freida Pinto, will light up the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

To be held from the 11th – 22nd of May 2011, it is one of the most prestigious film festivals and L’Oreal Paris has been the official make-up expert of it for 14 years.

Says Aishwarya, “Being at Cannes for L’Oreal Paris has been an absolute pleasure and to experience this for the tenth consecutive year is overwhelming. It is one of the most glamourous red carpets on the world platform, celebrating cinema, showbiz, beauty, diversity and excellence. Several countries have always had more than one spokeswoman at Cannes and I’m glad India is finally getting the same recognition. I am happy that with Sonam and Freida, both beautiful women, have being invited to the festival this year, India will have a stronger presence, which is a clear sign of the growing importance of the country.”

Slumdog Millionaire star, Freida Pinto says, “I am proud to represent this brand, which has always supported the cause of women and accentuated their beauty on the red carpet.” Sonam who debuts this year at Cannes is excited too. “It has always been my dream to walk the red carpet at Cannes and it is soon going to be a reality. I look forward to meeting actors and film makers from the world over and attending screenings of some interesting films.”

This brand will also introduce its first dream team, who’ve created the new ‘L’Or L’Or L’Or’ make-up collection, especially for Cannes, which will be used to design exclusive make-up looks for all the spokeswomen present at the Festival. Products to recreate the L’Oréal Paris L’Or L’Or L’Or look will be available in India exclusively at their boutiques at Palladium Mall, Mumbai and Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, New Delhi.

After being chased by the film’s producers for a long time, Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan is finally ready to become a Heroine. As the Bachchan bahu takes up Madhur Bhandarkar’s next, her kitty is going to be full this year, pushing Sanjay Dutt’s Satte Pe Satta (SPS) to 2

While Ash’s spokesperson refused to comment, it’s learnt that she is facing “major date issues” since she has already committed the rest of her time in 2011 to Ladies And Gentlemen with husband Abhishek Bachchan. Industry sources insist that in such a scenario, Aishwarya isn’t going to take up the SPS remake anytime soon. “Ash has such a challenging role in Heroine that she isn’t taking up any other film until she finishes it,” says a source who did not wish to be named.

Waiting for Ash
SPS director Soham Shah, too, has no idea about Ash’s inclusion in the film. “I have no confirmation whether she is doing the film or not. We are still working out the details. Only Sanjay sir (Dutt) can comment on the status of her participation,” says Soham, who informs that the film goes on floors in July. For some time now, reports have been rife that Ash has kept Dutt on hold for a long time to reprise Hema Malini’s role in the remake.

Later, it was suggested that Dutt was upset with Ash. But the actor insisted he is prepared to “wait till eternity for her,” adding, “It will be a pleasure working with Ash if she agrees to do Satte Pe Satta.” It is believed that the actor has informed SPS makers that she’ll be able to take up the movie only next year if they are willing to wait. Coming back to Heroine, Madhur plans to shoot his ambitious venture in a start-to-finish schedule. But he might take a break in July.
The movie was first offered to Kareena Kapoor who declined because she wasn’t happy with the intimate scenes in the script. Following her refusal, Madhur put the film on the backburner till UTV, the co-producers, decided to approach Aishwarya instead.