Ash sees Red

Friday, May 15, 2009

Aishwarya Rai puts her foot down; refuses to let Sonam Kapoor walk the red carpet at Cannes as the face of the cosmetic giant, which the two endorseWhen it comes to Aishwarya Rai, Cannes and controversy go hand-in-hand. Earlier, it was for her atrocious fashion sense and this year it's the long distance proxy cat-fight with Sonam Kapoor.

While Ash is at Cannes year after year in her capacity as the international brand ambassador for a cosmetic giant, Sonam Kapoor was added to the list of ambassadors this year and promised by the company that she would be walking the croisette in the company of the dream team of Aishwarya, Eva Longoria and Michelle Yeoh. "Being on the same platform as Aishwarya, for me, is a big deal in itself," the younger actress had cooed excitedly. However when Ash, who considers Cannes her turf, found out that she would be sharing limelight with Sonam she was hopping mad.

According to sources, her deal with the company is clear: she is the international face while Sonam would represent the Indian face. For a while Ash believed that Sonam was misled about the red carpet turn and that she had spoken out of youthful exuberance. But when she found out otherwise, the diva put her foot down. As a result, the there was furious activity to and fro and anxious moments at the company's office in Mumbai all of Friday.

Faced with Aishwarya's determined stand the company had no option but to inform that she would no longer be walking the red carpet in Cannes during the premiere of Pedro Almodovar's latest film Broken Embraces starring Penelope Cruz, another ambassador for the brand.

Vismay Shama, India head of the brand, refused to throw light on the matter. He said, "We will release an official statement only tomorrow morning. Till then you will have to wait."

Sonam's spokesperson Monica Bhattacharya said, "The brand has promised to issue a statement tomorrow morning and we would like to allow them the privilege of doing so." But sources confirm that the young actress who starred with Abhishek Bachchan in Dilli 6, is crushed at the missed opportunity.

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