Everyone Can at Cannes This Time

Everyone Can at Cannes This Time • Why Anil Skipped the Climax • Needs Fresh Excuses, Not Clothes

In just a few weeks from now, the Cannes Film Festival will kick off in the south of France, and L’Oreal, that cosmetics giant that is one of the festival’s biggest sponsors, will sashay its dream team of international beauties on the red carpet. Aishwarya Rai, a longtime L’Oreal ambassador, will hike her way up to the Croisette in her stilettos, but this year the French brand has invited fellow Indian spokeswomen Sonam Kapoor and Freida Pinto there, too.

Ironically, the three ladies are unlikely to come face-to-face since each is expected to be there on different dates. Ash, as she has been doing for years now, will be at the festival on opening night. Sonam arrives midway through the festival, and Freida towards the latter half for the AmFar (The American Foundation for Aids Research) dinner and after-party.

Only a few years ago, Sonam had accused Aishwarya of sabotaging her invitation to Cannes, a charge the former Miss World had vehemently denied. Since then, it’s been awkward for the two each time they run into each other, although Aishwarya did walk up to Sonam at Karan Johar’s party a few weeks after the Saawariya star made those attacks on her in the press, and extended an olive branch. Yet, one hears that early discomfort between the ladies has seeped into Sonam and Abhishek Bachchan’s working relationship on the sets of Abbas-Mustan’s Players, which is being filmed in Russia.

There’s little love lost between Aishwarya and Freida too, who have consciously avoided joint photo-ops, and who will once again miss each other by a few days in Cannes. Frieda has cattily said more than once in interviews that she’s been a fan of Aishwarya since her school days, making it a point to hint at the fact that she’s much younger than the Guzaarish star.

While on Cannes, Anil Kapoor too is expected to join his daughter Sonam on the Croisette this year.  Anil, who’s been shooting with Tom Cruise and Jeremy Renner recently in Vancouver and Prague for Mission Impossible: Ghost Protocol, has been advised by his agents to make his presence felt at the festival to court international filmmakers for more work. 

Back home, Anil gifted several of his industry friends a DVD of the final season of 24, the TV thriller series that introduced him to American audiences last year. Everyone from Sanjay Dutt and Akshaye Khanna to Karan Johar and Farah Khan received a copy of the show in which Anil’s character, president of the fictional Islamic Republic of Kamistan, is introduced as the antagonist and ultimately assassinated.

One filmmaker earnestly watched every episode and reportedly called Anil to discuss the show with him. After praising his performance, the director excitedly revealed that he’d particularly enjoyed the gritty finale in the last episode, but Anil allegedly had little to contribute to the conversation.

As he revealed sheepishly, since the gentleman didn’t stop dissecting the climax, Anil hadn’t bothered to watch the rest of the season after his character is killed.

One up-and-coming female star has got into the habit of never leaving home without a fresh change of clothes in her handbag. The actress, who debuted in last year’s biggest blockbuster, has said she comes from a conservative family and that her parents would never approve of her wearing skimpy outfits or performing intimate scenes on screen.

Yet, insiders say the change of clothes is just in case she decides to stay over at her co-star’s, which she has allegedly been doing often lately. The male actor in question, one of Bollywood’s most popular stars, has shifted base to a suburban studio where he’s set up temporary residence so he doesn’t waste time commuting from home. The actor is shooting round the clock to complete a film slated for an August release. The film’s producers have created a comfortable den for the star, complete with a gym and bar within the studio complex.

Unit members say the young actress (who doesn’t star opposite him in this film) is always hanging around on the sets, and often stays back until the wee hours of the morning. Friends of the actor find their relationship creepy, considering he’s been a close friend of her parents for years, and has known the young lady since she was a child.

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Rajeev Masand

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