Jury members, US actress Meg Ryan (L), Indian actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai (C), and US director Steven Soderbergh (R) stand together during a photocall on the first day of the 56th International Film Festival in Cannes 2003Reuters
Jury members, US actress Meg Ryan (L), Indian actress and former Miss World Aishwarya Rai (C), and US director Steven Soderbergh (R) stand together during a photocall on the first day of the 56th International Film Festival in Cannes 2003ReutersJury member Aishwarya Rai, Indian actress and a former Miss World, walks on stage during opening ceremonies at the 56th International Film Festival in Cannes 2003ReutersChinese actress Gong Li, Indian actress Aishwarya Rai and French model Laetitia Casta pose during red carpet arrivals on the first day of the 57th International film festival in Cannes 2004ReutersLaetitia Casta poses with Aishwarya Rai during red carpet arrivals on festival opening night in Cannes 2004ReutersBollywood star Aishwarya Rai poses during red carpet arrivals for the out of competition screening of [U.S. director Woody Allen's] film "Match Point" at the 58th Cannes Film Festival 2005.ReutersActresses Andie McDowell (L), Kerry Washington (C) and Aishwarya Rai (R) attend the world premiere of "The Da Vinci Code" at the opening night of the 59th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes 2006.ReutersBollywood star Abhishek Bachchan and his wife, Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai arrive for an evening gala screening of Chinese director Wong Kar Wai's in-competition film "My Blueberry Nights" at the 60th Cannes Film Festival 2007ReutersIndian actors Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan arrive for screening of "Vicky Cristina Barcelona" at 61st Cannes Film Festival 2008ReutersAishwarya Rai BachchanReutersBollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and actor Abhishek Bachchan pose on red carpet as they arrive at 62nd Cannes Film Festival 2009ReutersBollywood actress Aishwarya Rai arrives with U.S. actress Banks for the opening night of the 62nd Cannes Film Festival 2009ReutersActress Aishwarya Rai arrives for the screening of "Robin Hood" and for the opening ceremony of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival 2010ReutersActresses Longoria Parker and Rai arrive for the screening of "Robin Hood" and for the opening ceremony of the 63rd Cannes Film Festival 2010ReutersActress Aishwarya Rai arrives on the red carpet for the screening of "Tournee" in competition by director Mathieu Amalric at the 63rd Cannes Film Festival 2010ReutersBollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan poses on the red carpet for the opening ceremony of the 64th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes 2011ReutersBollywood actress Rai Bachchan arrives on the red carpet for the screening of the film "Sleeping Beauty" at the 64th Cannes Film Festival 2011Reuters
Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is a regular face at the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival since 2002... and there is always a lot of hype and attention, at least back home in India, about what the former Miss World and once declared Most Beautiful Woman in the world wears.
Aishwarya's first appearance at the event was to promote her new film "Devdas". The next year she was an official jury member. In 2007, post her marriage to fellow Bollywood actor Abhishek Bachchan, Aishwarya walked the red carpet with her husband.
The actress will be at Cannes again this year, as part of her role as brand ambassador for cosmetics brand L'Oreal. Incidentally, this will be her tenth appearance at Cannes and her tenth in association with L'Oreal. There is also a lot of speculation over the possibility of Aishwarya's daughter, Aaradhya Bachchan will accompany her famous mother; if she does it will be her first public appearance.
Aishwarya's initial costume choices were, unfortunately, rather bizarre and often caused her to stick out like a sore thumb. For example, she wore a lehenga (a traditional north Indian outfit) in 2003 that although properly exotic, was really not an impactful fashion statement. In 2004 there was that debacle with a gown that showed a little too much skin.
That prompted a switch to a relatively safe black gown for 2005 and she did look quite fetching. In 2006, she chose black again but this time fashioned it with frills and a stylish pair of shoes; a memorable shot was her posing alongside actress Andie McDowell and Kerry Washington.
However, in 2007, she was not quite herself. On her first appearance with her husband, she chose a silver mermaid gown that looked rather bizarre. Fortunately the diamond necklace saved her skin on that occasion. There were a lot more hits and misses over the next few years, including the black and pink gowns of 2008 and, of course, the "freak up-do" hairstyle that women's fashion and lifestyle Web site iDiva.com denouncedcategorically.
So... what will Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wear to Cannes this year?
