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."

Goldberg criticises Franco and Hathaway

Whoopi Goldberg has criticised James Franco and Anne Hathaway's Sunday night Oscar hosting presentation.

Speaking on Monday's episode of The View on ABC, Goldberg said that Franco and Hathaway failed to take charge of the awards show.

"You've got to get people who understand a live show," Goldberg said.

She added: "The first few minutes of that show is yours. You have to recognise two things. You have to recognise - like after Melissa Leo said [the f-word]... when things happen like that you have to be able to come and lift the audience out of their shock and move the show forward. I felt like last night there was no-one in charge."

The comedian continued: "I like James Franco a lot. I like Anne Hathaway a lot. But this is a show that, it's on you to keep it going. It's on you. You have to be able to surf in this show. And I didn't think they surfed as much as they could have."

Goldberg has hosted the Oscars four times.

James Franco refused to host Oscars!

James Franco revealed, he had refused to host Oscars in the beginning but changed his mind later on.

Now this comes as a shocker. We've got to know that Hollywood heartthrob James Franco was in two minds when asked to host Oscars'2011.

James recently revealed he initially said no to host the Oscars because he was too surprised to be offered the coveted role!

Franco revealed: "I was very very surprised, and my initial reaction was 'No.' Then I thought about it and I thought, 'Well, why not? Because I'll look bad?' Well, I don't care. I'm happy to take the criticism. Even if it's 'The Worst Oscars Ever,' I don't care. It's one night of the year."

He further added, "There might be some singing, there might be some dancing", dropping hints on how he and co-host Anne Hathaway will try to make the event most entertaining.

Apart from hosting the awards ceremony, Franco could win an award for Best Actor for his role in new film 127 Hours. And if he does, he said he already has a back-up plan in place – his friend and publicist Barry Johnson will accept it for him.

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.