Madhuri Dixit Defends Aishwarya Rai Bachchan at Cannes

Bollywood star Madhuri Dixit has publicly defended her former co-star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan against a wave of online criticism following Aishwarya's appearance at the 2026 Cannes Film Festival. In an interview, Dixit condemned the trolling and body-shaming directed at Aishwarya, who has been a fixture at the international festival for over two decades.

Dixit described Aishwarya as a global star who has made her country proud. She argued that reducing a woman of such stature to discussions about age, dress size, or weight sends a harmful message. "You cannot reduce her to a number on a scale or a number on the dress or the size or a number on the calendar years," Dixit stated. "She is beautiful. She looks beautiful but she is beautiful inside."

The criticism of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan emerged on social media after images from her latest Cannes red carpet appearances circulated online. Aishwarya, a former Miss World, first attended the festival in 2002 for the premiere of "Devdas," the film in which she starred alongside Dixit and Shah Rukh Khan. Her presence has since been seen as a consistent representation of India on a global platform.

Dixit expressed concern about the impact...