Will miss hubby Abhishek’s film premiere party in Dubai.
By The American Bazaar Staff
MUMBAI: If there is one film festival that actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has cultivated over the years, it’s Cannes, which she has unfailingly attended for a dozen years as a brand ambassador, and photos spreads have often followed of her attire on the red carpet.
So, it doesn’t come as a surprise that reports say her comeback film ‘Jazbaa’ with co-star Irrfan Khan in the lead, is being planned to be released at next year’s 68th Cannes Film festival.
Director Sanjay Gupta initially planned to release the first look of ‘Jazbaa’ at Cannes, but since the film is being shot almost 40 days ahead of schedule, starting from December with a wrap-up time of three months, the film is expected to be ready for screening at the festival.
“Sanjay and his team felt that since Aishwarya and Irrfan are well known in the international circuit, it would seem right to wrap up the film, and keep it ready for premiere at Cannes in May 2015. It would give the film an incomparable push,” a source told The Hindustan Times.
If Jazbaa makes the cut at Cannes, it will be Rai’s third film to be screened there, after the critically acclaimed films ‘Devdas’ and ‘Raavan’.
‘Jazbaa’ is an action thriller set in modern-day Mumbai. Aishwarya will be playing the lead protagonist, according to a past report in The Indian Express.
Gupta was quoted as saying, “The female lead’s character is the hero of my film. The role is extremely powerful and the project couldn’t have taken off with just about anyone. It required a larger-than-life brand, a big personality and no one can fit the bill better than Aishwarya. She fits the requirements of the character perfectly.”
In the film, Aishwarya will be seen doing some strenuous action-packed stunts for which she is undergoing special training.
While Aishwarya and her husband Abhishek Bachchan were seen at the Cannes film festival last year, the upcoming premiere of Bachchan’s next film ‘Happy New Year’ later this month in Dubai will not see the two of them together.
According to the Examiner, Aishwarya has decided to stay behind in Mumbai in order to represent the family at the famous annual Bachchan Diwali party.
The premiere is the same night as the Bachchan’s Diwali party on October 21, which has become a major high point on the Bollywood festivity calendar. All of the major industry stars visit Jalsa, the Bachchan family home, over the course of the night, and Abhishek’s presence is always expected. Aishwarya is choosing to give her husband’s film premiere a miss in order to stand in for him during the party (despite the fact that her in-laws, Jaya and Amitabh Bachchan, will be there to host the event), said the report.