Aishwarya Rai 'reduces asking fee'

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has cut her fee for new Hindi film project Heroine.

The actress, who launched the Madhur Bhandarkar venture at the Cannes Film Festival, will instead take a share of the profits, Mumbai Mirror reports.

A source revealed to the tabloid: "Every actor including Aishwarya Rai, Arjun Rampal and even Madhur Bhandarkar himself have slashed their fee."

Bhandarkar's earlier films Page 3 and Fashion received critical acclaim for the work of female lead actors Kangna Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra and Konkona Sen Sharma.

"It's a sensible business decision. Ash and Arjun will be sharing the profits of the film. They are confident of Heroine's prospects at the box office," added the source.

Rai Bachchan recently made her tenth appearance at Cannes.

The actor accepted the controversial role after Kareena Kapoor unexpectedly withdrew from the production.

Aishwarya, Sonam, Freida Pinto to represent India at Cannes

It will be an "Indian flavour" again at the prestigious Cannes Film festival this year with former Miss World Aishwarya Rai Bachchan representing the country for the tenth consecutive year.

Aishwarya, along with Bollywood actress Sonam Kapoor and the Slumdog Millionaire actress Freida Pinto, will light up the Red Carpet for L'Oreal Paris at the Cannes Film Festival to be held from May 11-22.

It is for the first time that L'Oreal Paris will have three spokeswomen representing India at Cannes, a testimony to India's growing influence on the world stage.

Making the announcement, Vismay Sharma, Director, Consumer Products Division, L'Oreal India, said, "On the eve of the Cannes Film Festival, we are delighted and proud to have Aishwarya, Sonam and Freida representing India and L'Oreal Paris at Cannes. They represent the diversity that is India and are sure to be the epicentre of attraction at the festival." Aishwarya, who celebrates a decade of representing L'Oreal Paris at Cannes, will like previous years walk the red carpet on May 11 for the opening ceremony and attend the Opening Gala cocktail and dinner while attending various events at Cannes the next day.

On walking the Red Carpet at Cannes, Aishwarya, one of the best known faces of Indian cinema globally, said, "Being at Cannes for L'Oreal Paris has been an absolute pleasure and to experience this for the tenth consecutive year has been quite overwhelming. I thank the L'Oreal Paris team and the Cannes Film Festival for inviting me every year to represent India at one of the most glamorous red carpets on the world platform, celebrating cinema, showbiz, beauty, diversity and excellence.

Several countries have always had more than one L'Oreal Paris spokeswoman at Cannes and I'm glad India is finally getting the same recognition. I am happy that with Sonam and Freida, both beautiful women, being invited to the festival this year, India will have a stronger presence, which is a clear sign of the growing importance of the country."

Bachchan to tattoo Aishwarya’s name

MUMBAI: It looks like Abhishek Bachchan is off on the path made by Saif Ali Khan and Hrithik Roshan. Apparently, the actor has planned to express the love for his wife, Aishwarya by tattoeing her name on his wrist.Abhishek is planning to ink Aishwarya’s name permanently on his body but he is confused about the design.

Abhishek Bachchan revealed his desire to ink Aishwarya’s tattoo during the promotional event of ‘Dum Maro Dum'. He said that he wanted to express his love for Ash by flaunting a tattoo.

Aishwarya Rai 'rejected Dum Maaro Dum'

Aishwarya Rai is reported to have been the first choice to play Abhishek Bachchan's wife in Dum Maaro Dum.

The actress and real-life wife of Bachchan was approached to play the role, which later went to Vidya Balan.
According to a source for Mumbai Mirror: "Vidya has a very significant cameo in the film, but she was definitely not the first choice to play Abhishek's wife. Rohan Sippy and producer Fox Star Studios wanted Aishwarya but somehow things didn't work out."

When the tabloid questioned director Sippy on his casting of the part, the filmmaker refused to confirm media reports alleging Rai as his initial choice.

"Vidya was gracious enough to do my film," responded Sippy.

The husband and wife acting duo were last seen on screen in 2010's commercially under-performing Ravaan.

Aishwarya Rai to walk Cannes red carpet

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is reported to be walking the red carpet at Cannes this year.

The Guzaarish star will make her tenth appearance at the 64th Cannes Film Festival, Mumbai Mirror reports.
Despite the presence of the Indian celebrity, no Bollywood film will be screened at the event.

Director Onir commented to the tabloid: "Being at Cannes can be used to open up the reach of the film to non-Bollywood world cinema audience and also markets where Indian films have still not reached."

India, the largest producer of films globally, last year screened the offbeat release Udaan at the festival.

Dev D filmmaker Anurag Kashyap stated that competing at an international level is a challenge.

"It takes a good film to be at a prestigious festival like Cannes," said Kashyap. "We had a film but it was not ready so we didn't send it. But seeing the films in the lineup the competition would have been very tough."

Rai Bachchan ran into controversy last year after allegedly refusing to appear with Sonam Kapoor on the red carpet.

Hugh Jackman, Aishwarya Rai bag top honours at FICCI-Frames

The 12th edition of the three day FICCI-Frames conclave concluded Friday with Hollywood actor Hugh Jackman and Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai bagging the top awards.

FICCI Frames Excellence International Honour was awarded to Jackman, who is best known for his role as Wolverine in the "X-Men" series. The actor is also famed for his versatile style of acting and his rugged on-screen roles in films such as "Kate and Leopold", "Van Helsing", "The Prestige" and" Australia".

Aishwarya was honoured with the Decade of Global Achievement award for her contribution to Hindi cinema. Vidya Balan bagged the best actress award for her performance in "Ishqiya" and Shah Rukh Khan was honoured with the best actor award for "My Name Is Khan".

A film that has sky rocketed at the box office, breaking all records in collections, "Dabangg" also scored two awards at FICCI - Best Film of the Year and Best Music of the Year Award. It also fetched its heroine, Sonakshi Sinha, the award in the the Best Debutant (Female) Category.

"Band Baaja Baaraat" was another film that made a mark at the box office delivering the Best Debutant award - Male to Ranveer Singh for his acting and the Best Director Debut to Maneesh Sharma.

"The entertainment industry in India is booming along with business excellence and we are happy to recognise such levels of talent in both fields. We take pride in honouring best performers for their contributions in their area of work," said Yash Chopra, Chairman, FICCI Entertainment Committee.

Another highlight of the evening was the impromptu gig between Vidya, Shah Rukh and Jackman where the three shook a leg together on stage, entertaining the audience.

Other awards were:

Best TV Series - Non-Fiction - Indian Idol 5 (Fremantle Media, SET and Wizcraft Television)
Best TV Series - Fiction - Pavitra Rishta - Balaji Telefilms
Best TV Actor - Male - Sushant Singh Rajput in Pavitra Rishta (Zee TV)
Best TV Actor - Female - Rashmi Desai in Uttran (Colors)
Best General Entertainment Channel - STAR PLUS
Best Radio Channel - Radio Mirchi
Best Director - Karan Johar (My Name is Khan)

Aishwarya to honour Hugh Jackman

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai will present a memento to Hollywood star Hugh Jackman at the FICCI-FRAMES 2011 annual convention on the business aspects of the entertainment and media industry here March 23-25.

The 37-year-old star will honour Jackman on the final day of the event, a press statement said.

Aishwarya, an internationally known actress, was asked by FICCI and its entertainment committee's co-chair, filmmaker Karan Johar, to attend the function and present Jackman with a memento of appreciation.

Jackman, 42, has played a variety of roles in Hollywood and is well known for his role as Wolverine in the popular "X Men" series.

Aishwarya Rai honours acheivers of Lavasa Women's Drive 2011

Actress Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan presented awards to winners of the third Lavasa Women's Drive 2011, a car rally that promotes solidarity and creation of social awareness among women.

She honoured recovering cancer patients and other acheivers at a glittering ceremony here last evening.

The Lavasa Women's Drive was about celebration of the different aspects of life with strength, belief and conviction, along with keeping the faith, Ms Rai-Bachchan said.

"Diseases like cancer should not be feared, and the ceremony has been a humbling experience. They (patients) have been an inspiration for their sheer courage to wake up everyday and conquer cancer," she said.

She further said Indian women need to undertake regular tests for cancer.

"Living the life of a celebrity is one filled with moments of joy and pride on a daily basis. I believe in celebrating the gift of life on a daily basis and sharing it with somebody," she added.

Aishwarya honours breast cancer fighter

Actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan presented special awards to the winners of the Lavasa Women’s Drive at a glittering ceremony here on Friday night.

It was an emotional moment when she handed out a special award to Anisha Oberoi for her continual fight against breast cancer and to Dr. K. Dinshaw, Director of TATA Memorial Hospital for her exemplary work in cancer research.

The third edition of the Lavasa Women’s Drive culminated with a glamorous award night on Friday at The Hyatt Regency.


Lavasa Women’s Drive (LWD) is an all women drive which is an expression of solidarity to unite various social causes and create awareness through friendships and achievements.

After concluding events comprising of the LWD anthem launch and the Mumbai and Pune flag offs, the award night was a celebration to set the momentum for International Womens Day.


Anuradha Paraskar, Sr. Vice President – Marketing, Lavasa Corporation Ltd played a perfect host as she welcomed the participants and briefed them on the agenda for the evening.

Celebrities such as Jackky Bhagnani and his co-star Pooja Gupta handed over a few awards and also spoke about their upcoming film while the suave Arjan Bajwa and Adnam Sami greeted winners.


Bharati of Comedy Circus fame had participants in splits with her performance. Alque Padamsee, Malvika Sanghavi and Suresh Bhojwani paid a visit.

“The third edition of the Lavasa Women’s Drive was a whopping success. The passionate involvement of all the participants was exemplary,” said Paraskar.

Whilst at Lavasa, not only did they all enjoy the events but in fact many cancer survivors came forth and shared their experiences urging all women to be careful and prevent cancer. Lavasa is proud to own this unique concept which is fun filled yet compassionate in nature and looks forward to making it better and better over the years!” said Paraskar.

The participants won awards in various categories including awards for Best Message, Best Dressed, Most Popular Team, Most Spirited Team, and High on Anthem Award etc.

Singer Shweta Pandit mesmerized audience with her rendition of latest bollywood numbers. Her spirited performance had women dancing till wee hours.

In short it was an evening to remember for all the participants who braved the ghats of Sahyadri to reach Lavasa to create awareness about various causes including women’s cancer.

Aishwarya Rai once again on Vogue cover

Bollywood diva Aishwarya Rai has made it to the cover of Vogue for the third time, sporting an all black feathered look. The magazine carries interesting tidbits on the former beauty queen from 10 men who know her well.

The magazine has spoken to people including Ash's husband Abhishek Bachchan, designer Manish Malhotra, director Ashutosh Gowariker and ace make-up artist Mickey Contractor, said a statement.

Abhishek shared the memories of his first meeting with Ash saying: "The first time I met Aishwarya was in August 1997. I was on a recce for my father's film 'Mrityudata' in Switzerland and she was shooting her first film 'Aur Pyar Ho Gaya' with my dear friend Bobby Deol. I remember one evening Bobby invited me over to his hotel for dinner and Aishwarya and the rest of the unit were there. That was the first time I actually met her."

"If you ask her, she will tell you the same thing - that the minute we came together, we both knew that this was something for keeps. So, there wasn't just this 'one' defining moment, it always felt perfect," he added.

Others too have shared similar interesting episodes related to the beauty queen.

Anaita Shroff Adajania, the fashion director for Vogue India magazine, has styled her for the shoot.

Longoria 'finalizes divorce from Parker'

Eva Longoria is officially divorced from basketball player Tony Parker.

According to In Touch Weekly, Longoria finalized her divorce on January 28.

"The divorce documents will come through today, she is happy and moving forward with her life," said a friend of Longoria's on Friday.

Longoria and Parker were married for three years. They split in November amid reports that Parker had cheated on Longoria.

 However, Parker still denies that any infidelity occurred.

L'Oreal clears air on Aishwarya Rai -replacement

Cosmetic major L'Oreal Paris on Saturday said reports on actor Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being replaced as the face of L'Oreal Paris due to her not being a part of their New Year commercial, are 'untrue'.

"We are shocked and surprised to read in some sections of the media/press about Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan being replaced as the face of L'Oreal Paris," said an official statement on Saturday.

"L'Oreal Paris strongly reiterates that this is absolutely untrue and that Ms. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan continues to be our valued spokesperson, as she has since 2000. While she remains an integral part of the L'Oreal Paris world wide Dream Team, she was unfortunately unavailable for our New Year commercial shoot due to prior commitments."

"She is one of the most iconic women of our times and is certainly the face of L'Oreal Paris internationally and in India for a range of products which include campaigns for Total Repair 5, Excellence Crème, Color Riche, Hydrafresh," read the statement.

According to reports, Ash was replaced by 'Slumdog Millionaire' actor Freida Pinto after the former Miss World refused to be a part of L'Oreal's 'Happy New Year 2011' campaign.

Aishwarya Rai to sue Elle magazine cover 'skin-whitening' scandal

Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is fuming over Elle magazine cover 'skin-whitening' scandal, reveal her pals.

Fans of the actress were left stunned last week after her skin appeared to have been digitally lightened on the cover of the magazine's new issue.

According to friends, the 37-year-old Bollywood star, who is widely believed to be the world''s most beautiful woman, is said to be considering suing the Indian version of the title over what has been deemed ''racist airbrushing''.

The actress herself has not commented on the situation, but friends of the 'Bride and Prejudice' star have said she is ''furious''.

"Aishwarya''s first reaction was disbelief," the Daily Mail quoted one of herpal as saying.

"She believed that these things don''t happen anymore. Not in this day and age when women are recognised for their merit, and not for the colour of their skin.

"She is currently verifying this skin-whitening allegation. If there is any proof of this, she might even take action," the pal said.

"She is clearly the global face of the contemporary Indian woman. The last thing she''d want is to have a global image coloured by a racial suggestion," another pal added.

Neither Elle magazine or Mrs Bachan were available for comment today.

The actress, a former Miss World who is married to fellow actor Abhishek Bachchan, is thought to be too preoccupied by her father, who is ill, to look into the matter further.

Elle in race row for whitening Ash's skin

Fashion bible Elle magazine has been caught in a race row after reportedly whitening the skin of Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan on its cover.

Readers reacted with anger after it was suggested that the fashion magazine might have digitally "bleached" the complexion of the former Miss World.

The 37-year-old, who has also starred in Bride & Prejudice and The Pink Panther 2, appears on the cover of this month's Indian edition of the magazine. However, her skin appears to be several shades lighter than her normal colour.

Inside the magazine, she is again pictured in a series of shots, all showing her with pale skin, reports the Daily Mail.

Fans have been posting angry comments online about the latest cover, with one saying: "It's annoying because it seems like lighter skin is always in fashion as if darker skin is something to be frowned upon."

Kareena Kapoor fills Rai Bachchan role

Kareena Kapoor will reportedly play the role initially planned for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Bajirao Mastani.

According to the Times of India, Bhansali hoped to make the epic 18th century love story in 2003 with Bachcan and Salman Khan but the project was shelved when the couple's relationship ended.

Bhansali is allegedly reviving the project after casting Kareena Kapoor in the lead female role opposite Khan.

The story is based on Indian folklore about General Peshwa Bajirao and his wife Mastani.



'Guzaarish' producers defend smoking scene

The producers of Guzaarish have defended Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s smoking scene in the film, describing it as a script requirement.

Responding to a protest letter sent by the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE), producers UTV said: "The scene in which the character played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is shown smoking was merely a creative requirement for the script."

The organisation objected to posters for the Sanjay Leela Bhansali film featuring the scene in which the actress smokes.

"The poster of the film picks and chooses the same frame in their advertisement campaign. Actually this is a clandestine advertisement of a tobacco product," a NOTE spokesperson told PTI.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan: Is she plain lucky?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has become quite the epitome of success despite her latest three flicks not doing so well at the box office. This star has more than proved her star status not only in India but also abroad as everyone who is interested in the world of glitz and glamour is well aware by now.

However the actress in her is not yet satiated and she is thus reportedly going in for a signing up on quite a few new projects these days. The most popular star wife Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has also proved that marriage is a jinx for any actress in B town and has got a lot of important projects in her kitty right after she tied the nuptial knot with Abhishek Bachchan.

These days there is news floating around that director Vishal Bharadwaj is planning to sign Aishwarya and Hrithik Roshan for his project on the Shakespearean play Hamlet.

Now this amazing play by the most coveted playwright like Shakespeare that too with the ace director like Vishal Bharadwaj and two of the most hot and happening stars of Bollywood like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Hrithik Roshan as the lead pair, actually sounds quite the perfect combination for a super hit flick!

As is known Aishwarya and Hrithik have looked extremely convincing as a couple in Dhoom 2 and Jodha Akbar, not to forget the amazing pair in the just released Guzaarish, it really seems like a dream project is about to begin for this deadly hot duo.

Now with Ash getting such great offers even as she has crossed the 35 plus mark in her birthday count one really wonders –is she plain lucky to get to work with the best of directors in B town?

Longoria's husband 'also seeks divorce'

Eva Longoria's husband Tony Parker has reportedly counterfiled for divorce only two days after the actress began legal proceedings to dissolve their marriage.

TMZ claims that Parker filed the papers in Bexar County, Texas, citing that the marriage had become "insupportable because of discord or conflict of personalities".

The papers also claim that the marital conflict has resulted in there being no chance of reconciliation between the pair.

Longoria filed for divorce from the NBA star earlier this week following the alleged discovery of more than a hundred text messages on Parker's phone between himself and his teammate's wife Erin Barry.

The couple married in July 2007 and were forced to deny Parker's involvement in an affair with model Alexandra Paressant only five months later.

Eva Longoria & Tony Parker: Divorce Update

While many of their fans were caught off-guard when they filed for divorce, Eva Longoria and Tony Parker's split was a long time coming.

According to Parker’s rep, “Eva and Tony have been discussing their situation privately. He was aware that she would be filing for divorce in Los Angeles."

“Tony did not file for divorce in Texas and did not hire divorce attorneys in either Texas or California. He plans to continue to keep their discussions of this matter private."

Meanwhile, an inside source leaked that everything came crashing down between Eva and Tony when Longoria found that her hubby had been keeping information about Erin Berry (his teammate’s wife) a secret.

“Tony had Erin’s personal information stored in an electronic program that only he could access. But one day he forgot to close the program and that’s when Eva found it. It was a double shot for her because not only did she find all the information but Eva also realized immediately that Tony had taken steps to hide it from her. The fact that Tony had been hiding Erin’s information and their correspondence made Eva feel like he had been lying to her for months, and basically he had been.”

Eva Longoria files for divorce from 'cheating' husband Tony Parker

Eva Longoria has filed for divorce from husband Tony Parker after discovering 'hundreds of texts' from another woman on his phone.

The 'Desperate Housewives' actress filed the documents at Los Angeles Superior Court, just hours after denying reports they were planning to split.

"It is with great sadness that after 7 years together, Tony and I have decided to divorce. We love each other deeply and pray for each other's happiness," the Daily Mail quoted her as tweeting.

The news comes after a spokesperson for the 35-year-old actress shot down a report that claimed her basketball player husband had filed for divorce on Monday in Texas.

In the divorce papers, Longoria cites the standard "irreconcilable differences" as the reason for the split. She is also seeking spousal support from Parker.

However, there was no reference to the claims her 28-year-old NBA star husband has been unfaithful.

But Eva confided to her friend Mario Lopez - host of U.S. entertainment show Extra - that Parker had cheated on her during their marriage.

The actress also confirmed to Lopez that she found hundreds of text messages from another woman on Parker''s phone, who turned out to be the wife of one of the NBA player''s teammates at the San Antonio Spurs.

The woman''s identity has not been revealed nor the name of the San Antonio Spurs teammate.

Longoria added that her estranged husband cheated on her with yet another woman with whom he kept in touch via Facebook.

"She is devastated, she wants us all to know that. But she''s strong," Lopez said.

Her husband later tweeted the same message.

Eva is being represented in the divorce by high profile celebrity divorce lawyer Lance Spiegel, who has previously worked for Sandra Bullock in her divorce from Jesse James and Russell Simmons in his divorce from Kimora Lee.

Anti-tobacco group fumes over Aishwarya's cigarette act

Bollywood actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who will be seen lighting up in her forthcoming release 'Guzaarish', has set the anti-tobacco lobby aflame with anger.

"The display of the posters showing Aishwarya smoking raises worries in our mind that they could be trand-setters," said a statement released Tuesday by Dr. Shekhar Salkar, general secretary of the National Organisation for Tobacco Eradication (NOTE).

He said the group has written to the actress as well, and asked her to withdraw posters of Sanjay Leela Bhansali's latest film "Guzarish", showing the Bachchan bahu smoking a cigarette.

Salkar said many film stars, who confess about their aversion to smoking in private, routinely smoke on screen, taking refuge in phrases like 'freedom of expression'.

"There are innumerable posters of 'Guzaarish' all over Mumbai. There would be many other scenes which could convey the storyline of the film, yet the producer has chosen this particular one, quite oblivious to its after-effects," Salkar said.

NOTE has in the past dragged Bollywood superstars Amitabh Bachchan and Shah Rukh Khan to court over promoting tobacco.

The group had also complained against Ajay Devgn, who was photographed smoking while shooting in Goa for "Golmaal 3". The star was fined Rs.100 for his indiscretion.