By Jilawatan

Forty nine films from 33 countries, but the largest producer of films, India, so far has no entry to the 64th Cannes Film Festival.

The only Indian ‘entry’ it seems, at this year’s prestigious festival will again be Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.

Courtesy the cosmetic brand she endorses, this will be her 10th year when the actress will kiss the air and walk the red carpet.

After the Malayalam film Arimpara made a grand entry at Cannes in 2003, the gap (read: itch) of seven year was filled by Vikram Motwane’s Udaan last year.

Mumbai Mirror decides to find out the missed connection here…

Rahul Dholakia

It’s a difference in philosophies. European cinema is subtle, we simplify everything and spell it out. Their cinema is visual and often uses silence as a powerful tool.

By Jilawatan

On posters and in promos for her new film, Guzaarish, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is seen smoking casually. Three days before the film releases, anti-tobacco activists have launched a protest, demanding that the film’s makers remove those shots from publicity material.

Bollywood and Aishwarya, they say, influence young people. And in a country where 10 lakh people die every year from smoking-related diseases, stars and their directors need to be more responsible, they contend.

”We know that we are playing into the hands of the films producers by giving their film more publicity but our concern is public health,” says Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, an associate professor at the Tata Memorial Hospital.

But the contentious scenes from the film, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and co-starring Hrithik Roshan, have been on air for a month – and the last-minute protests are being questioned for being cunningly crafted for maximum publicity.

By Jilawatan

Bollywood couple Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan won’t be able to attend the screening of their film Raavan at the upcoming 67th Venice Film Festival, due to prior commitments with their brand endorsements.

Raavanan and Raavan – the Tamil and the Hindi versions of the Mani Ratnam film – and Anurag Kashyap’s That Girl In Yellow Boots will be screened at the festival, starting Wednesday.

“Aishwarya and Abhishek are not going for the Venice Film Festival as reported in some media outlets. The festival falls on the same dates on which they have previously committed. Aishwarya is going for an event for Longines (as she is the brand ambassador), while Abhishek will be busy with a shoot for Omega in Italy,” said a source close to the actors.

By Jilawatan

This is Aishwarya’s way of proving she is more than just a gorgeous face. She is heading the marketing department and is the brain behind Paa’s stellar campaign, replete with those classy, international-looking posters. Paa is ABCL’s first Bollywood production in a long time and Aishwarya wants to ensure that they are back with a bang. They also produced a Marathi film which premiered at MAMI this year.

A source tells us, ‘Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is going all out to ensure that ABCL becomes a production house to reckon with. She has been meeting up with directors she has worked with and even those whose work she admires but hasn’t worked with as yet. Anurag Kashyap, R Balki, Sanjay Gadhvi, Sanjay Leela Bhansali and Ashutosh Gowariker who has met up with to discuss future projects. After meeting the directors, she discusses everything with her Maa and Paa (Jaya and Amitabh) who share their opinion with her. As far as the cast of the films is concerned, there is enough talent within the family to choose from.’