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."

Freida Pinto 'not recognised in Mumbai'

Freida Pinto has admitted that she was not recognised in public during a recent trip to her hometown of Mumbai.

The actress returned to the city alongside boyfriend and Slumdog Millionaire co-star Dev Patel in order to visit the poorer areas with a charity organisation but said that the residents did not acknowledge her.

"People in the city recognise me as the girl from Slumdog Millionaire, and inevitably they stare. But when I visited the slums with an NGO, nobody recognised me at all. I didn't mind," she told the Sunday Times.

"As for Dev they hounded him, calling him crorepati, which means millionaire."

James Franco and Anne Hathaway to host 83rd annual Academy Awards

Actor James Franco and actress Anne Hathaway will host the 83rd Academy Awards in February, the Academy announced on Monday.

Franco, 32, can currently be seen in "127 Hours" but is also known for his roles in movies such as "Eat, Love, Pray," "Date Night," "Milk" and "Pineapple Express." He is also known for his portrayals of Harry Osborn in the "Spider-Man" trilogy.

Hathaway, 28, was recently seen in "Alice in Wonderland" and currently can be seen in "Love and Other Drugs." Other films include "Bride Wars," "Becoming Jane," "The Devil Wears Prada" and "The Princess Diaries." She was nominated for an Oscar in 2008 for her lead performance in "Rachel Getting Married."

Oscar telecast producers Bruce Cohen and Don Mischer made the announcement on Monday, saying they 'personify' the next generation of Hollywood icons. "We hope to create an Oscar broadcast that will both showcase their incredible talents and entertain the world on February 27," they said in a statement. "We are completely thrilled that James and Anne will be joining forces with our brilliant creative team to do just that."

Academy Awards for outstanding film achievements of 2010 will be presented on Sunday, February 27 at the Kodak Theatre at Hollywood and Highland Center in Hollywood and will be televised live in more than 200 countries worldwide.

I wouldn't want to do a Bollywood film

"Slumdog Millionaire" star Freida Pinto has ruled out plans of starring in Bollywood films as she is interested in more real cinema rather than the song and dance routines.

She has been offered several "stereotypical" roles for "a girl from India" since finding fame - but she's adamant she will avoid parts in all-singing, all-dancing Bollywood movies, contactmusic.com reports.

"I wouldn't want to do a Bollywood film per se, but I would like to do an Indian language film. For some reason I think Bollywood has become synonymous with commercial cinema, which is song and dance and everything that is larger than life. I am interested in the reality," she said to a magazine.

"It is great to have entertainment, but I think there needs to be something that also makes you want to go back and think about what you've seen," she added.

"Mindless cinema is not my cup of tea...I could get into trouble for saying that. I don't think Bollywood is only mindless cinema, but a lot of films they churn out are not films that I completely enjoy watching," the actress said.

"I say hats off to them for doing what they do, because it takes a lot of courage. It is easier to stand and deliver dialogue. Imagine dancing a song out and kind of expressing through it. I think it is a challenge and requires you to lose your inhibitions," she added.

Pinto 'favours indie over Bollywood'

Freida Pinto has said that she would rather do an independent Indian production than a Bollywood film.
Speaking in an interview with Blackbook Magazine Pinto said that she isn’t avoiding Bollywood but believes India has better films to offer.

"There are some amazing films in India, made on a much smaller scale, that don’t get the same appreciation as the big Bollywood films, and I’ve never understood why," she said.

The Mumbai-born actress added: "Those are the films that I want to be a part of, so I’m just waiting for something like that to come my way, and I’m telling you, I’m going to grab it with both hands."

The Slumdog Millionaire actress is currently working on French director Jean-Jacques Annaud’s Black Gold which also stars Antonio Banderas and Mark Strong.

I will say yes to good Bollywood script

Freida Pinto has revealed she would star in an Indian film but only if she "loves" the script.
The Slumdog Millionaire actress said that the same rules apply to all roles she is offered, whether they are from Hollywood, Bollywood or anywhere else.

"Quite contrary to what people believe, I haven't said yes to every international script that has come my way. I have said no to quite a few," Pinto told IANS.

"Similarly, unless and until I fall in love with the Indian script, I will not do it."

The 26-year-old recently starred in Woody Allen film You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger and will soon be seen playing a Palestinian journalist in Rula Jebreal's Miral.

Frieda Pinto desperate to play role that 'kicks ass'

Frieda Pinto has revealed that she is desperate to play a harder type of role that ''kicks ass''.


The 25-year-old actress made the admission in the November issue of Britain's InStyle magazine, as she posed for a flirty and feminine photoshoot modelling the season's latest lacy looks.

“I keep playing the damsel in distress. But I’d like to kick some ass!” the Daily Mail quoted her as saying.

Pinto shot to fame as the love interest in Slumdog Millionaire and can soon be seen playing a similarly feminine character in Woody Allen's upcoming romance You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger.

Freida Pinto on starring in Woody Allen’s film

Indian actress Freida Pinto, who is starring in new Woody Allen directed movie You Will Meet a Tall Dark Stranger, has revealed her on set experience.

Pinto, 25, revealed that she was very comfortable working with Allen, 74, and that he gave her much leeway to improvise on the script.

“You cannot predict what will happen and what his style of directing will be like,” the New York Daily News quoted her as saying.

“Everyone told me that he was going to be very quiet and very elusive and that he was probably not going to talk to me. But that wasn’t the case at all.

“That’s the amazing thing about Woody Allen. He doesn’t want you to follow the script like it’s the Bible. He wants you to be flexible and bring your own flavour to a character.

Pinto was asked whether she has gained more confidence after working with Allen.

“This film pretty much marked the peak of my confidence. If I could work on a project with a legendary director like him, then I don’t think there’ll be any other challenges that come my way that I can’t handle!” she added.

"Rise Of The Apes" Workers

Kicking off another work day, James Franco and Freida Pinto were spotted on the set of “Rise of the Apes” in Vancouver, Canada.

The “Slumdog Millionaire” babe and the “Eat Pray Love” stud looked to be enjoying themselves as they chatted in between scenes.

“Rise of the Apes” is an origin story set in present day San Francisco, where man's own experiments with genetic engineering lead to the development of intelligence in apes and the onset of a war for supremacy.

Also starring Tom Felton, Brian Cox, and John Lithgow, “Rise of the Apes” is scheduled to hit theaters June 24th, 2011.