Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's Fashion and Style at Cannes [SLIDESHOW]

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?