There’s no better way to make the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival sizzle than to let Bollywood beauty Aishwarya Rai stroll down it.
The stunning actress says she wouldn’t miss the chance to attend the annual mega-movie extravaganza. In fact, earlier this week Rai told reporters coming to Cannes is becoming an annual tradition.
The Bollywood actress first appeared at the world-renowned film festival back in 2002 when she was promoting the lavish love story "Devdas.” The "Bride & Prejudice" star also attended last year's French Riviera fest shortly after she wed fellow film star Abhishek Bachchan.
"Last time, I got married just a month before so it was very special to be back here," Rai told reporters. "It was literally like a reception welcome."
This year the gorgeous brunette is strutting down Cannes’ red carpet as a model for L'Oreal. But she’ll soon be returning to the big screen alongside Steve Martin in next year’s "The Pink Panther 2."
Unfortunately, for the career oriented actress most reporters in Cannes were more interested in quizzing her about married life than they were about her upcoming film project.
About a year into married life, the former Miss World says she still considers herself a newlywed.
"I think what's fantastic is when you have this incredible friendship with your man," she said. "I think that's what really holds real, and that's the best part of us together. I mean of course there's the love and all of that, but I won't get into those clichés with all of you."
As for her plans to start a family, Rai was noticeably tight-lipped.
"I'm a normal girl just like anybody else ... it will happen when it has to happen," she said. "It isn't something that you write in a diary, but when it has to be it will definitely be, and yeah, looking forward to it as and when, but no speculations right now, please."
Baby making might not be on the top of Rai’s to-do list right now, but taking care of her husband and father-in-law sure ranks up there.
According to new reports, Rai played the perfect 'bahu' (daughter-in-law) during the shooting of Ram Gopal Verma's “Sarkar Raj," taking care to ensure husband Abhishek and father-in-law Amitabh Bachchan were being properly fed on the set.
According to reports, Rai “religiously supervised” the meals being prepared for Abhishek and Amitabh and made it a priority that they were receiving their favorite dishes.
"It is special when you shoot with the family," Amitabh told reporters last week. "But our lunch hour was the only hour when we were together as a family. After lunch, we would all get in the skin of our characters and get back as unit members of a film."
The new film, which is a sequel to the 2005 film "Sarkar,” marks the first time Abhishek and Aishwarya have worked together since their 2007 wedding.
Previously the couple shared screen time in 2003’s "Kuch Naa Kaho" and 2006’s "Umrao Jaan.”
Lucia Kim
Families Pop Culture Blog
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