# Bhansali defends Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Cannes style 2026-08-16T12:55:10+00:00 | Entertainment | Indian Opinion Desk Corroboration: 1 independent outlet Sanjay Leela Bhansali has defended Aishwarya Rai Bachchan against criticism of her fashion choices at Cannes and film premieres. Speaking on 'Koffee with Karan', the filmmaker told Karan Johar he disliked the trolling, saying she represents the country and does things beyond what she wears. Bhansali and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan have collaborated on three Hindi films: 'Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam' (1999), 'Devdas' (2002), and 'Guzaarish' (2010). The filmmaker also revealed he had originally wanted her to play Mastani in 'Bajirao Mastani', with Salman Khan as Bajirao, but she declined due to discomfort with the planned team. The role eventually went to Deepika Padukone. Aishwarya Rai Bachchan later said she was game to play Mastani but not with the Bajirao Bhansali had in mind. Bhansali said he was hurt but their friendship continued. The director's next film is 'Love & War'. ## Coverage - timesofindia.indiatimes.com This story was synthesised by AI from the source linked above. Tags: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Cannes Film Festival, Koffee with Karan, Sanjay Leela Bhansali Canonical: https://indianopinion.org/bhansali-defends-aishwarya-rai-bachchans-cannes-style/ License: Summary and commentary (c) Indian Opinion, reusable with attribution. Facts belong to the linked sources. Cite: https://indianopinion.org/bhansali-defends-aishwarya-rai-bachchans-cannes-style/#story-in-brief Review state: restored archive article, accurate at time of publication, not offered to search indexes. How this brief was made: an AI model read the report linked above and wrote this summary and analysis, which were published automatically. Published briefs are sampled every hour by an automated quality check; the editor verifies its findings and approves corrections, and corrected briefs carry a dated correction line. We do no original reporting. Methodology: https://indianopinion.org/ai-use-policy/