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Indian actor Amitabh Bachchan arrives for the tribute to Hindi cinema at the 12th Marrakech International Film Festival on November 30,Marrakech International 12th Film Festival on December 1, 2012 in Marrakech, Morocco. (GETTY)
Australian director Baz Luhrmann’s 'The Great Gatsby' will open the 66th Cannes Film Festival on May 15 and will set the tone for an exciting 12-day French Riviera extravagant.
Adapted from the famous novel by American author Francis Scott Fitzgerald and set against the roaring twenties on the East Coast of the United States, the film depicts the romantic and tragic figure of Jay Gatsby (Leonardo DiCaprio), as narrated by his friend Nick Carraway (Tobey Maguire).
This prestigious occasion will also be graced with the presence of Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan, as well as the American pop star, rapper Jay-Z.
"It is a great honor for all those who have worked on 'The Great Gatsby' to open the Cannes Film Festival. We are thrilled to return to a country, place and festival that has always been so close to our hearts, not only because my first film 'Strictly Ballroom' was screened there 21 years ago, but also because F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphaël,"said Baz Luhrmann.
The opening film will be screened in 3D at the Grand Theatre Lumiere of the Palais des Festivals, out of competition in the Official Selection.
On the same day the Festival gets underway 'The Great Gatsby' will also open in cinemas nationwide. Both in France and internationally.
Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wearing designer Abu-Sandeep piece to the amFAR auction, which raised a total of $11 million for AIDS research. (AFP)
Aishwarya Rai - The usual fixture
But Amitabh Bachchan is not the only Bachchan to visit the Cannes this year. In a statement to Emirates24/7, daugther-in-law Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's spokesperson confirmed that Ash will attend the 66th Cannes Film Festival.
"She will be attending the Cannes film festival this year as well as the L'Oreal Paris ambassador as she has been doing in the past," read the statement.
Not to forget the youngest member of the Bachchan family, Aaradhya Bachchan. Mummy will certainly not leave her behind!
And hopefully Ash will not hid Aaradhya from the cameras this time around with a shawl, file or bodyguards.
Indian actress Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has been a regular fixture at the Cannes for the past 11 years.
It will be interesting to see if the daughter-in-law accompanies Senior Bachchan at the red carpet or she sashays down the gala event solo for the 12th consecutive time.
India Focus
Amitabh Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's presence at the Cannes makes the festival exciting for the Indian film industry but there's more to rejoice.
The Festival de Cannes will welcome a large delegation from the Indian film industry to Cannes to celebrate the one hundred years since the birth of cinema in India.
India, in 2013, is to be the third 'guest country' at Cannes, following Egypt in 2011 and Brazil this year.
The Festival de Cannes is delighted to celebrate one of the most important countries in the world of cinema, a country with a prestigious history and tradition, one whose current day and creative impulses are a perennial example of vitality.
The Festival de Cannes will be taking place from May 15th to 26th, 2013.
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