Newly slim Aishwarya Rai Bachchan walks Cannes red carpet

Plus: five Sharjah shorts screen at Cannes; Motwane skips Cannes to finish film; Kochadaiyaan a no-go at Cannes.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in an Elie Saab creation at Cannes. AFP

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is a regular at the Cannes Film Festival, made her 11th appearance on the Croisette's red carpet. Bachchan was spotted arriving at the Nice Côte d'Azur International Airport on Friday with her husband Abhishek and daughter Aaradhya. On Sunday, she attended the premiere of the Coen brothers' new film Inside Llewyn Davis. The 39-year-old actress wore a black lace, sequinned dress by the Lebanese designer Elie Saab, showing off her newly slim figure and silencing her critics after she put on post-pregnancy weight last year. At the gala event celebrating 100 years of Indian cinema, she wore an embellished black and gold sari by the Indian designer Sabyasachi Mukherjee. Bachchan is in Cannes as a brand ambassador for L'Oréal. At a press conference for the brand, she wore a white Saint Laurent shirt and a Zac Posen skirt. – The National staff

The producer and director Vikramaditya Motwane was not allowed to take a day off to finish his latest movie, even if it was to attend the Cannes Film Festival. Motwane didn't join the entourage promoting his co-produced film Ugly, directed by Anurag Kashyap, to focus on the post-production of Lootera, which he is directing and set for a June release. His co-producer Vikas Bhel told reporters at Cannes: "Unfortunately, Vikramaditya couldn't accompany us because we need to get the post-production of Lootera done on time." Based on the American writer O Henry's short story The Last Leaf, Lootera stars Ranveer Singh and Sonakshi Sinha. – IANS

Four short films directed by students from the American University of Sharjah (AUS) and one film by a professor of design at the school are screening at Cannes's Short Film Corner. The student films are On the Edge (directed by Hana Kazim), Shiddi 7eilik (Salma El-Shami and Areeb Al-Shathri), Grief (Omnia ElAfifi) and Hessa (Rashed Al Nuaimi). Also screening is Four Days by Professor Jack Swanstorm. "The film was partially completed due to a generous grant from AUS. It could not have been finished without the university's support," Swanstorm said in a statement. The jury for the Short Film Corner comprises the New Zealand director Jane Campion, the Ethiopian actress Maji-da Abdi, the Italian actress Nicoletta Braschi, the Indian director and actress Nandita Das and the Turkish director Semih Kaplanoglu. The films can be viewed at www.cannescourtmetrage.com.
– The National staff

The filmmaker Soundarya Ashwin was scheduled to show the trailer of her new film Kochadaiyaan but had to cancel due to production delays. Ashwin pulled the plug on the trailer's premiere, deeming it unsuitable to be screened at what is considered the world's most prestigious film festival. "We were all set to go to the festival but our director was not happy with the trailer," the source said. "She didn't want an unsatisfactory trailer to be shown at the festival and chose to opt out." – IANS

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