India at Cannes 2009

There may not be any Indian film showing at the 2009 Cannes Film Festival, but that does not mean that India will be completely absent from all the excitement. Check out the Indian stars who will be at the 62nd Festival du Cannes.
It goes without saying that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan will be at the most prestigious film festival.

However, Ash has got a demotion of sorts this year, as she isn't going as a jury member or as an actress of one of the films being screened. This time around, Ash is going merely as the brand ambassador for L'Oreal.


Ash might not be on the jury at Cannes this year, but yesteryear's actress Sharmila Tagore certainly is.

Tagore is on the Competition Jury, which is nine members strong and is presided by French actress Isabelle Huppert.

Other members include, Turkish director Nuri Bilge Ceylan who won the Best Director award last year for Three Monkeys, Hollywood actress Robin Wright Penn, and British writer Hanif Quereshi among others.



Among the Cannes-newcomers, there is actress Kareena Kapoor, who is going to promote her upcoming film Kambakkht Ishq.

Kambakkht Ishq might be among those big budget films that might actually be hit by the producers' strike against multiplex owners.


If Kareena is there to promote Kambakkht Ishq, it is only natural that even Akshay Kumar should be.

Akshay, who is currently dealing with recession blues and huge fees cuts, is worried about the fate of this film, since it is scheduled for a May release, and the on-going strike might hurt its chances.

And this is a crucial time for Akshay, who has given three straight super-flops — Chandni Chowk to China, Jumbo and Tasveer 8X10, and needs a hit most desperately before his recently bestowed 'king' title is taken away from him.


Hrithik Roshan, the actor currently making headlines for his allegedly rocky marriage, is also set to make his Cannes debut this year.

The 2008-09 Filmfare Best Actor award winner will be present at the festival to promote his much-hyped film Kites.

To add fuel to fire, the bane of Hrithik's life at the moment, Barbara Mori, his co-star in Kites, will also accompany him to Cannes. Hrithik has been in the news lately solely because of his relationship with Mori. Reports claim that his wife Suzanne gave Hrithik and ultimatum and left their home because of his closeness to the Latino actress. Reports also said that Hrithik's father is displeased with this relationship, and this has lead to some tension between the father and son. Rakesh Roshan, however, told a leading daily that contrary to reports, Hrithik has not called Barbara Mori back from Mexico because of the swine-flu scare