Cannes 2025: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Sindoor – personal or political?

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has a history of making news with her dress choices at Cannes Film Festival. Some of these have earned her an overwhelming adoration from her fans, including the famed golden Roberto Cavalli gown in 2014. (Abhishek Bachchan used to swoon her over back then. Let’s talk about that in a bit). There have also been times when Aish has had to suffer severe criticism for her looks. Remember the lavender lipstick fiasco from 2016? So this year has not been any different for this Bollywood actress either. Here is what happened… Aishwarya Rai Bachchan shines in Rouge Royal at Cannes 2025. She has her hair mid-parting filled with ‘Sindoor’. Tabloid media brings back “divorce”. Indian social media start attributing it to a “nationalistic” move.

Let’s look at both these buzzwords. On the first day at Cannes Film Festival 2025, Aish wore a classic white handwoven kadwa Banarasi sari by Manish Malhotra, along with 500 carats of Mozambique rubies and uncut diamonds set in 18k gold around her neck. Vogue India described her dress in these words: “The ivory and gold look featured a long, sheer train with intricate gold embroidery and sequin detailing that acted like a dupatta, adding a dramatic flair. The sari featured handwoven brocade motifs and hand-embroidered zari detailing in real chandi, extending over the fabric.”

However, what truly caught the netizens attention was the ‘Sindoor’. It comes as little surprise that, following the Indian Prime Minister’s rhetorically charged address and the relentless narrative paddling by much of the Indian media, a large section of the public continues to view ‘Operation Sindoor’ as a success story for India. In the national imagination, “Sindoor” has been elevated to a near-sacred symbol of nationalism and patriotic pride – intertwined, inevitably, with a deepening animosity toward Pakistan.

So when Aishwarya came on the red carpet with Sindoor filled hair-parting, it was a matter of moments for Indian social media users to start attributing it to Indian military’s operation. Indian journalists – some of whom have now deleted their posts on X (formerly Twitter) – were the frontline advocates that this is the actress’ way to pay a tribute to the Indian government and army.

As with many superficial parallels – whether fuelled by mainstream media narratives or the collective assumptions of the public – speculation soon turned towards her personal motivations. Rather than viewing the act of wearing sindoor as a symbolic national gesture, some voices began to question whether it was simply a matter of personal choice to shut down rumours about her divorce.

In the weeks and months leading up to Cannes festival, Aishwarya and Abhishek Bachchan’s marriage has been talk of the Bollywood town. The gossip about the Bachchan family’s ill-treatment of Aish is nothing new for the fans and followers of the Indian film industry. Aishwarya’s solo appearances in multiple events, along with her celebrations with daughter alone, without Abhishek, further fuelled these rumours.

The word “divorce” has been thrown around for this couple, since at least December of 2023, with the possible news of the split gaining and losing traction in the movie media circles from time to time. Last year in October, Abhishek was accused of cheating on Aishwarya with his Dasvi co-star, Nimrat Kaur. While neither Aish nor Abhi addressed the allegations, but Nimrat said in an interview that it is not possible to stop gossip. Then there was the Anant Ambani and Radhika Merchant’s wedding, where the entire Bachchan family arrived together, except Aish and her daughter Aaradhya, who both not only arrived later but were also seen keeping a distance from the Bachchan family, during the event.

Now with the sindoor debate, some netizens also brought back the social media posts of Abhishek, saying this is how he used to swoon over her.

Fast forward to Cannes festival now, and those initiated to the film-gossip now believe that the Sindoor is a lot more likely to be statement on Aish’s marriage than anything to do with the conflict between two armed neighbours and any operation involved in it.

Whether a confirmation of a strong marriage, or a misunderstood political symbol, Aishwarya’s sindoor proves once again that in the theatre of public gaze, even the simplest gestures can be turned into national propaganda!

Also read: Has Alizeh Shah gone under the knife?