Bollywood stars hit Cannes red carpet

Plus: Indian president hands out National Film Awards; Filipino boy on YouTube invited to DeGeneres show.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is among the Bollywood stars and brand ambassadors of L'Oreal Paris who will be at the Cannes International Film Festival. AFP

Bollywood stars hit Cannes red carpet

The Indian actresses Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor and Freida Pinto will be treading the red carpet at the Cannes International Film Festival later this month. The trio will be making their appearances on different nights of the festival as brand ambassadors for L'Oreal Paris. At a gala ceremony to celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema, the actresses will sport clothes inspired by Bollywood's different eras. L'Oreal Paris has been the official make-up company for Cannes for 16 years. Bachchan will be making her 12th consecutive appearance at Cannes. She will be the guest of honour at a special evening celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema on May 19. The following evening she is due to attend a red carpet event. "It is great to see the Indian film industry being celebrated and honoured on the occasion of its 100th anniversary at an internationally respected platform like the Cannes Film Festival. This truly signifies the impact made by India on world cinema," she said. – IANS

Filipino boy invited to DeGeneres show

Fourteen-year-old Aldrich Lloyd Talonding from the southern Philippines can't believe his luck: Ellen DeGeneres wants him to be a guest on her show. A video of Aldrich's soulful rendition of Luther Vandross's Dance with my Father – made for fun and posted on YouTube by a cousin – has had more than 1.1 million hits since April 21. DeGeneres recently played the video on her show, called the boy "amazing" and asked him to "please come here and sing to me and all of my friends here". Aldrich said he is applying for a US visa after getting a call from the show's producer last week. A cousin who played the guitar in the video and an elder sister plan to go with him. He said he was "happy, surprised and nervous" about his new-found fame. Filipino journalists have descended on their quiet community in General Santos city. "I was surprised because the video was just made for fun," said Talonding. Zendee Rose Tenerefe, a Filipino singer also from General Santos city, had alerted the talk show's producer about the video. Zendee and other Filipino singers including Charice Pempengco began their careers by appearing on DeGeneres's show. – AP

Indian president hands out film awards

The president of India, Pranab Mukherjee, was the guest of honour at the 60th National Film Awards on Friday, where he presented prizes to the winners. The most prestigious award of the night, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award – which is granted by the Indian government for lifetime contribution to the film industry – was won by the veteran actor Pran Sikhand. The 93-year-old, however, did not attend the event. The director Tigmanshu Dhulia won the best film award for Paan Singh Tomar, a movie which charts the story of a champion athlete who becomes a bandit. Irrfan Khan, who played the eponymous hero of the film, won the Best Actor gong, which he shared with Vikram Gokhale for his performance in the Marathi film Anumati. Usha Jadhav walked away with the Best Actress title for her portrayal of a rural housewife in another Marathi language film, Dhag, which also won the Best Director's gong for Shivaji Lotan Patil. – IANS

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