An ivory saree, a tissue drape, and rubies around her neck. But what truly stood out in Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's first Cannes look this year was a line of red sindoor glowing in her hair. The message couldn't be clearer. India is just about dispatching its delegations to 33 countries to speak about Operation Sindoor, which followed the Pahalgam terror attack of April 22. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, with sindoor in her hair, played quite the cultural ambassador of India that she is at Cannes.
The sindoor hit two goals at once. The vermillion, the mark of a married Hindu woman, was perhaps also to shut all divorce rumours that Aishwarya and husband Abhishek Bachchan have been subjected to for months now.
Aishwarya's much anticipated Cannes look was put together by ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra. The saree, a handwoven Kadwa Banarasi handloom pick, was ivory, understated, and helped the sindoor take centrestage. She paired the saree with a handwoven tissue drape, and high jewellery from Manish Malhotra Jewellery. The necklace featured over 500 carats of Mozambique rubies and uncut diamonds in 18k gold. Along with that, was a statement ring.
Aishwarya, who is a regular at Cannes, treated fans to a Devdas throwback. The actress wore a saree to the French Riviera in 2002 too, for Sanjay Leela Bhansali's Devdas at the film festival.
While all these years, it has been Aishwarya's choice of clothes at Cannes that did the talking - both good and not so good - her sindoor is going to be a talking point this year. Both at home and out in the world.