She knows the prestigious Cannes Film Festival and the frighteningly glamorous French Riviera like her own backyard. No wonder, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is the darling of the international press. Even after her much-talked about pregnancy, her weight gain after childbirth and her repeated fashion faux pas, Ash continues to sizzle on the red carpet with her celestial presence.

This year Vidya Balan, who was present at Cannes as a special jury member, brought a breath of fresh air with her charm. The Dirty Picture actor’s finely crafted ethnic wear including her trademark Kanjeevaram saree and the intricately designed maroon outfit made her the photographers’ delight. We also spotted Mallika Sherawat in a beautiful off-shoulder outfit. And then there was the most style-sensible gal Sonam Kapoor who looked absolutely gorgeous in a beautiful Dolce & Gabbana floral gown. The side-swept hair and minimal accessories made Sonam look every bit a diva. After watching all these beauties, we were waiting for Ash, curious to know what she will wear this year! And then arrived the divinity in motion…

Putting her disastrous saree and jacket faux pas of the last year behind her, Aishwarya attended the screening of Inside Llewyn Davis on Sunday. The 38-year-old actor was a traffic-stopper in a black lace and sequined Elie Saab creation. She accessorised the high-voltage outfit with a black minaudiere. Her simple hairdo and minimal makeup made her look elegant. Off the red carpet too, she was a class apart in a white Saint Laurent shirt and a long mermaid-style Zac Posen skirt. The classy Armani belt made her look slimmer than her red carpet avatar. Later in the day, Ash was spotted in a heavily embellished black and gold Sabyasachi saree with a gold hair ornament at the gala. We like!

Tell us BollywoodLifers, was Aishwarya Rai Bachchan the best dressed on the Cannes 2013 red carpet?

Vidya Balan is a huge Amitabh Bachchan fan. Even after playing the mother of the legendary actor in R Balki’s 2009 film Paa, Vidya continues to get butterflies in her stomach at the very mention of Big B. The Dirty Picture star is on this year’s Cannes jury and is excited about sitting on the same panel that boasts the world-renowned names like Steven Spielberg and Ang Lee to mention a few. The talented actor maintains that the Cannes experience is absolutely surreal for her,but what got her emotional was Amitabh Bachchan’s presence at the French Riviera. Big is at the glamorous do to promote Baz Luhrmann’s kaleidoscopic carnival The Great Gatsby.

“When I saw Mr Bachchan on stage, I choked. I grew up watching Amitabh Bachchan’s films and my niece and nephew who are 21 months old, they know Amitabh Bachchan. Indian cinema and Amitabh Bachchan are synonymous with each other. And when he spoke in Hindi, it was just such a proud moment. Personally, for me to have shared the stage with him and on an international platform where the talk is about India celebrating 100 glorious years, it felt really special. These are the times when you have to pinch yourself and say ‘oh my god, this is for real,” said Vidya in a recent interview

It was an indeed a proud moment for the Indian cinema and it’s fans the world over to get to hear Amitabh Bachchan speak in the national language on the international stage. We at BollywoodLife wish more power and success to Big B!

Just when we were wondering what Vidya ‘the ever vivacious’ Balan will be wearing at the 66th Cannes Film Festival, the 34-year-old star made her stunning presence felt at the red carpet in a gorgeous maroon outfit, much to the photographers’ delight. Just look at her! Isn’t she class personified in an outfit that is a fine blend of classiness and stylishness?

Created by ace designer – need we mention who – Sabyasachi Mukherjee, this maroon and black lehenga with a high neck, fully-covered choli made Vidya look every bit of a royal star. The detailed work on her dupatta and the intricately designed hemline of her lehenga added a touch Indian sophistication to the look.

The moment the Kahaani actor stepped out of a plush car, press photographers at the gala could not stop clicking and Vidya glowed like a true Indian queen in those unstoppable flashlights. The perfect combination of a subtle makeup and designer jewellery only accentuated Vidya’s calm, composed and confident personality. She just oozed that ‘ooh la la’ factor with her kohled eyes and that warm smile.

Vidya has been invited at the Cannes 2013 festival to be a part of the nine-member jury. She will be staying at the prestigious Martinez Hotel throughout the festival. And with a hot star like her around, the dignitaries are definitely going to feel the heat!

PHOTOS:NDTVmovies

Kiran Rao believes that Bollywood is in an amazing space right now. With the success of films like Kahaani and The Dirty Picture, the filmmaker is brimming with optimism that this is an exciting period to be in B-town, which is why she’s working on a script that will have strong women in the lead. And that doesn’t come as a surprise to us ‘coz in her debut venture Dhobi Ghat itself, Ms Rao had etched out characters which had women of substance.

KR is midway through her script and she added that all her films henceforth would have woman-oriented characters. Now, that’s some inspiration for all young filmmakers and mommies out there. We wish Ms Rao all the luck and enthusiasm to make some amazingly cool films.

Vidya  Balan might take serious umbrage after discovering that Sonam Kapoor – the style diva – publicly spoke about what she thinks The Dirty Picture star should wear at the 66^th Cannes International Film Festival. SK is one smart mouth, so if she can call Shobhaa De a fossil and rate Ranbir Kapoor lowest on the sex appeal meter, we shouldn’t be surprised that the gal has the audacity to think that VB – the actor who’s way senior to her, age and experience-wise – needs fashion gyaan. C’mon, isn’t that what Sabyasachi Mukherjee is there for? So while Sonam has stated that Balan would look like a million bucks if she wore a chiffon saree and teamed it with pearls, we can’t stop ourselves smirking. Won’t a body-hugging, flowy fabric like chiffon make Vids look like something that resembles a round basket with a whale in it?

SK also thinks that Balan should go for light, airy fabrics, since it’s going to super hot at Cannes this time of year. Now we doubt that VB – the woman who has truckloads of self respect – is going to pay heed to any of that advice. So we can already imagine Balan with sweat patches, all slick with heat, taking great delight in watching movies rather than trying to make an impression on the red carpet in her Kanjeevaram’s rejigged by Sabya.

Whatever she does decide to wear we will know eventually, but we suggest that the next time Sonam gives a suggestion, she keeps VB’s body frame in mind. Chiffon draped on a well curved bod is like a shoddy house adorned with high-end chairs…no?

Tigmanshu Dhulia is a filmmaker that many in the Bollywood bastion want to work with. After Saheb Biwi Aur Gangster and Paan Singh Tomar, his stock has soared and he is considered to be hot stuff…so much so that he is part of the must-work-with list in B-town now, an upgrade after some years of flop movies like Haasil and Charas.

So when he announced that he was planning to start work on his biopic, Begum Sumroo, a kind of 1940s Umrao Jaan retelling, he managed to rope the big names in for a reading. But after Vidya Balan Roy Kapur and Kareena Kapoor Khan went through the script, and post their showing much interest in doing the role, they both backed out, reportedly because they were uncomfortable playing a character that is very sexual and uninhibited. And now we hear that the very sexy Chitrangda Singh is interested in becoming Begum Sumroo…on the big screen, of course!

According to Dhulia, he has had the script ready for a few years now, but wants to bring in an international studio to produce it. This, of course, will mean that censorship issues will not be too big a bugbear for satellite rights. Which in turn implies that the film can be legitimately more steamy than would be possible if the whole venture was produced locally, wethinks.

But what has us giggling is the newly found demureness and modesty of the two biggest names in leading lady lists. Both Kareena and Vidya have done ‘bold’ movies very recently – Heroine and The Dirty Picture – and showed no coy maiden behaviour at all with their uninhibited acting. And both have declared that marriage will not change their professional demeanour, even though they may not want to do lengthy lovemaking scenes too often. So why this turnaround now?

And with Dhulia getting more accolades every day for his work, will these lovely ladies change their whimsical minds any time soon? We just have to wonder…..

“Indians love sex. But don’t tell them that they love it. It is equivalent to serving alcohol mixed in a glass of soft drink. So do the trick and we Indians will accept sex readily even if the form is changed,” said Mahesh Bhatt on a talk show, contorting his face with great passion while debating whether Indians are ready to accept sex in cinema.

Recently the Supreme Court issued notices to various ministries of the central government on a PIL seeking modification of Internet laws to make watching pornography a non-bailable offence in the wake of increasing sexual assaults on women. But the question we are asking is, will sleazy, titillating Hindi films also be brought under the porn umbrella?

The slippery slope that separates erotica from porn must be viewed subjectively. But in an industry where an item song studded with cleavage heaving and pelvic thrusting is used as a selling point, and love-making scenes – even if shot ‘aesthetically’ – are looked down upon as being improper and vulgar, the definitions of porn, soft porn and erotica change radically. So let’s take a look at those films that blurred the dividing line and ruffled more than a few sensitive feathers. Were these productions too hot to handle for our aam janta? You tell us!

“When I did television, I was told that I cannot do movies and I won’t be able to understand the medium. People thought my movies will be all about jewellery and ‘saas-bahu’,” said Ekta. In television world, Ekta Kapoor made an impressive beginning in 1995 with the comedy show Hum Paanch about a couple with five daughters. It turned out to be a huge success and changed the fortune for Ekta, then a plump 20-year-old who was carrying the legacy of being actor Jeetendra’s daughter.

After that, she produced over 70 shows under Balaji Telefilms, which is now a 19-year-old banner, and includes the long forgotten successful noon show Itihaas. She also made Koshish… Ek Aasha as well as Kyunkii… Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi, Kahaani Ghar Ghar Kii, Kkusum … Ek Aam Ladki Ki Kahani and Kasautii Zindagii Kay.

Balaji Telefilms also produced horror and supernatural shows for the small screen – Mano Ya Na Mano and Koi Aane Ko Hai, to name a few. Thanks to her stupendous success, she was crowned the small screen’s czarina. She replicated the same success with aplomb on the big screen by making hit feature films – underworld thriller Once Upon A Time In Mumbai, Ragini MMS on a real life scandal and biopic The Dirty Picture – under her moviemaking banner Balaji Motion Pictures.

“Whenever you change your medium, you have to prove yourself again. One has to come out of the comfort zone again and again and again. My innings in films had a lot of struggle, but I enjoyed it,” said the 37-year-old. She collaborated with Sanjay Gupta to co-produce Shootout At Lokhandwala and now the two are coming out with its prequel Shootout at Wadala.

There is no dearth of content in her films. When asked, from where she takes her inspiration for stories, Ekta said: “People inspire me the most. I love talking to people and I love knowing about their lives. I always believe that there has to be some inspiration in whatever you do, but it does not have to be from people you personally know.”

Ekta had earned flak from critics for promoting regressive views through her saas-bahu TV sagas. “I did so many TV shows and I never thought that it would be possible that people won’t generalise the shows. In TV shows, you don’t have time for effects; you just have time for content. Now everyone is doing what I did,” she said proudly.

She has a very simple mantra when it comes to taking criticism. “I take criticism very well, but I cannot take criticism that is put badly. You have to put it in the right way and then I will take it in the right way,” said Ekta, who continues to entertain TV audiences while courting the big screen.

Successful in both the mediums, Ekta feels fame should not stop one from pursuing passion and being creative. “Success is the ability to do the work that you want to do. If you can do that, then you are bloody successful. You can make a lot of money, but if that money will tie you down to creating more money, then there is probably no fun in it. Success is when you make money but also when you use that money to do what you always wanted to do,” she said.

She is currently looking forward to the release of the supernatural thriller Ek Thi Daayan, which she has co-produced with Vishal Bhardwaj. Releasing on  April 19, Kannan Iyer’s directorial debut features Emraan Hashmi and three leading ladies – Konkona Sen Sharma, Huma Qureshi and Kalki Koechlin.

Her other projects include Lootera, being co-produced by Ekta and Anurag Kashyap, and Shaadi Ke Side Effects, another co-production venture with Pritish Nandy.

“I don’t think anybody would even dare to remake Mother India and if someone does then I will salute him, but I will not do it. It is unachievable, really.”

- Vidya Balan 

Also read: Vidya Balan’s character in The Dirty Picture now a case study 

What? David Dhawan does not want to make comedies anymore? Yup, that’s what he told us just before the release of his latest comic caper, Chashme Baddoor. Wethinks Dhawan should change his mind! For he has delivered a super entertainer in the remake of Sai Paranjpye‘s 1981 hit, Chashme Buddoor. The film bears the Dhawan-Govinda stamp all over, and could’ve been just another one of his slapstick comedies with any other name, although the plot is more or less similar to the original.

Sid (Ali Zafar), Jai (Siddharth) and Omi (Divyendu Sharma) are three perpetually broke lukkha college friends and roommates who are wooing the same girl, Seema (Taapsee Pannu). While Sid is the calm and studious type, Jai is an all-out perv and Omi the shaayar is similar, too. Of course, all three are ‘good at heart’. Seema keeps escaping to her daadi‘s Goa home to avoid an arranged marriage, and the story unfolds in Goa with many funny situations, parodies and a predictable ending.

Writer Renuka Kunzru has done a decent job of adapting the screenplay into a modern one, but the nuances of the classic are just not to be found. The new version is a loud romcom – a far cry from Paranjpye’s subtle one.

But in Dhawan’s film, the dialogues are the hero – actually funny and not just trying to be. Writers Sajid-Farhad have shown tremendous talent here. The witty – and sometimes crude but not cheap – lines keep the audiences entertained even when the film slows down in parts and gets monotonous. Editing by Nitin Rokade is bang on, except at one place when a ‘sher’ is cut abruptly.

Ali Zafar returns in a comedy after the 2011 hit Mere Brother Ki Dulhan, except this time, he gets the girl. He gives a restrained performance and is easy on the eye. But does he match up to the youthful charm of the handsome Farooq Shaikh in the original? Far from it! Siddharth’s acting is decent, but he seems more at home with his intense performances like the ones in Rang De Basanti and Striker. But it’s Pyaar Ka Punchnama actor Divyendu Sharma who steals the show as the shaayar. This boy delivers a punch in almost every line and every scene, standing tall among the other actors who come with some experience. Hats off to him!

Zafar, Sharma and Siddharth obviously have worked on their tuning and show great camaraderie. As for the chemistry between Ali and Southern hottie Taapsee Pannu, it’s not too happening and maybe it was supposed to be that way.

Taapsee, a real-life software engineer, is a natural PYT, but there’s nothing memorable in her performance except maybe the line ‘Dum hai, boss!’, and her bike riding. She does merge into the comedic situations well, to her credit. But Deepti Naval’s Miss Chamko is not what Taapsee is reprising. In fact, it’s the exact opposite of her character.

Rishi Kapoor as Joseph Furtado is nothing like Chashme Buddoor‘s lovable Lallan Miyan (Saeed Jaffrey), but Furtado charms you and has some of the best lines. So does Lillette Dubey as the boys’ landlady, Josephine. Kapoor and Dubey’s romance is more endearing and it could’ve had some more meat. And strangely, the famous Chamko sequence between the lead pair in the 1981 film is here used in Joseph and Josephine’s parallel love story. Really, was it even needed? You don’t need to take everything from the original just for the sake of it, do you?

The other veterans in the cast, Anupam Kher (in a double role) and Bharti Achrekar are spot-on with their comedy.

It seems like David Dhawan knew all along what Vidya Balan’s Silk told us in The Dirty Picture – that it’s all about entertainment, entertainment and entertainment. And Chashme Baddoor is entertainment at full blast! But don’t watch it if you hold the original movie too close to your heart.