By Jilawatan

The lukewarm response to her recent Hollywood release Pink Panther-II has had Aishwarya Rai Bachchan(35) conceding her position.

As the most popular face of Bollywood in the West to the new international craze 24-year-old Freida Pinto (Slumdog Millionaire) who according to reliable sources has been signed for two films-one with Woody Allen and the second with Julian Schnabel.

Freida, who is said to have earned over two million pounds, overtaking Bollywood beauties like Aishwarya, Kareena Kapoor and Katrina Kaif is also, according to a world film distributor being wooed to walk the red carpet at Cannes in May 2009.

On the Bollywood front, Kareena Kapoor (28) has nudged Aishwarya Rai Bachchan out of the Filmfare Top-10 Power list. But a producer from Chennai confirms that Ash is still the highest paid Indian actress and has reportedly been paid a fee of Rs six crore for Shankar’s Robot where she is cast opposite Rajnikant.

By Jilawatan

Aishwarya Rai walked the pink carpet with costars Jean Reno and Steve Martin at The Pink Panther 2 premiere in Paris, France on Tuesday, February 10.

The Bollywood star, frolicked in the spirit of the comedy film as she posed for photos holding a pink crystal ball, representing the famed pink diamond around which the film’s story is woven. Reno and Martin also held pink crystals.

Aishwarya, 35, took out a leaf out of Angelina Jolie’s style book, dressed in a black full length velour coat over a white self-patterned shawl collar top, with black and white plaid wide leg pants.

She accessorized with black pointy pumps, a watch in her right arm, a bangle bracelet in her left arm, a white cocktail ring and V shaped ring in her right hand and a blue cocktail ring in her left hand.