Aishwarya Rai, Arjun Rampal and Bipasha Basu likely to head to Cannes

The Cannes International Film Festival red carpet is not indifferent to Bollywood presence and this time again a number of celebrities, including Aishwarya Rai, Arjun Rampal and Bipasha Basu are likely to attend the gala, to be held May 16-27.

Arjun Rampal is expected to make an appearance at the forthcoming 65th Cannes International Film Festival as the ambassador of liquor brand Chivas, the official partner of the event. He is likely to be accompanied by his designer friend Rohit Bal.

The actor had recently expressed a desire to showcase his upcoming film "Heroine" at the Cannes Film Festival. "I would love to be (a part of Cannes festival). That is a film that deserves to be there. If 'Heroine' can be showcased there, it will be great," said Arjun.

Directed by Madhur Bhandarkar and co-produced by Ronnie Screwvala and Bhandarkar, the film has Kareena Kapoor and Arjun in the lead roles. Randeep Hooda and Shahana Goswami will also be seen in pivotal roles.

"Heroine" was announced with Aishwarya Rai at the festival last year. But she opted out of the film due to her pregnancy. The director had to replace her with Kareena Kapoor.

However, to keep the red carpet tradition alive, Aishwarya Rai is most likely to grace the French film festival again this time. She has been attending the festival since 2002 as the global face of L'Oreal.

Like Aishwarya, actress Mallika Sherawat has been a regular at the Cannes red carpet, but whether she will attend the gala this year or not is still a mystery.

Bipasha Basu may also attend the festival to promote her debut international movie "Singularity". Based on the first Anglo-Maratha war of 18th century colonial India, this romantic movie also marks the Hollywood debut of actor Abhay Deol.

This is not the first time that Bipasha would be attending the festival. In 2007, she walked the red carpet to promote her film "Dhan Dhana Dhan Goal", along with her co-star and her then boyfriend John Abraham.

Directed by Roland Joffe, "Singularity" has been lined up to be showcased at the Cannes film fest as part of a promotional drive.

The year 2009 saw Karan Johar attending the festival to represent a lifestyle brand. The subsequent year saw Deepika Padukone making her presence felt in traditional Indian wear as the face of a liquor brand.

In 2011, Sonam Kapoor, Minissha Lamba and Rakeysh Omprakash Mehra walked the red carpet. While Sonam and Minissha were representing the brands they endorse, Mehra's docu-drama "Bollywood-The Greatest Love Story Ever Told" was screened at the event.