The brand's international ambassadors include Jane Fonda, Diane Kruger, Beyonc Knowles, Claudia Schiffer, Milla Jovovich, Patrick Dempsey, Rachel Weisz, Laeticia Casta, Evangeline Lilly and Gerard Butler. All of them feature in the new campaign except Aishwarya, who was roped in by the company in 2005 as one of its global spokesmodels.
While L'Oreal Paris representatives in India couldn't be reached for a comment, the buzz doing the rounds is that the prestigious cosmetic brand has plans to rope in Freida as their new global spokesmodel from India. The commercial, which has been uploaded on L'Oreal Paris' French site, features the brand's spokes models delivering hard sell lines in French and English. Freida incidentally gets as much screen space as the other stars.
When contacted, Aishwarya's spokesperson claimed to be unaware of the matter. " I don't know anything about it. We need to check out the details," she said, adding: " Ash is busy with her upcoming performance at an awards function, so she can't speak on this issue right away." Interestingly, Ash along with Hollywood diva Eva Longoria, has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival red carpet over the past few years as the cosmetic brand's spokesmodel.
Many in Bollywood feel the brand's disinterest in Ash could have to do with the fact that she hasn't been very active on the international front of late.
" She needs to be seen more in the West to get new work there. She needs to keep the excitement level going about her. Freida has been constantly in the global limelight in recent times. That could be a reason," says a Bollywood filmmaker who has worked with Ash.
Right now, Freida is clearly the exotic flavour of the season in the West. " Also you can't deny the fact that at 37, Aishwarya is no longer as young as she used to be. For westerners, she isn't probably as much a draw as she was about five years ago. Now, Freida has caught their imagination," says a media analyst.
In fact, L'Oreal Paris' UK portal states it clearly. It writes: " Freida, India's very own million dollar baby, has gone from strength to strength, be it upcoming international films or building her reputation as the young fashionista across the globe. Freida's name has been firmly engraved in the minds of all." Come to think of it, Freida is indeed going great guns in the West.
After her minuscule role in Slumdog Millionaire propelled her to global stardom, she was spotted in Woody Allen's You Will Meet A Tall Dark Stranger and Julian Schnabel's Miral. She now looks forward to Immortals co- starring Mickey Rourke ,Rise of apes with James franco and Black Thirst with Antonio Banderas.
Aishwarya's western campaign seems to have slowed down. Her Hollywood debut, The Last Legion, had flopped despite the presence of Sir Ben Kingsley and Colin Firth. Neither did The Pink Panther 2 create much of an impact.
Gurinder Chadha's international projects, Bride And Prejudice and The Mistress Of Spices, had also failed to impress while the ambitious Chaos, which was to star Ash along with Meryl Streep, has been shelved. Recently, City Of Joy director Rolland Joffe signed Bipasha Basu for a role he had initially offered to Ash, in his next film, Singularity .
Even british media has started reporting about this news.popular newspaper telegraph says:
Aishwarya Rai, the Hollywood and Bollywood film star widely regarded the 'world's most beautiful woman,' has been ousted as the Indian face of cosmetic giant L'Oreal by Freida Pinto, according to industry insiders.
Her omission from L'Oreal's 'Happy New Year 2011' campaign marks the end of her reign as the world's best recognised Indian face, commentators said, and her demise as the country's most successful international film star.
It also marks the rise of Ms Pinto, who was relatively unknown until her appearance in Slumdog Millionaire, as one of India's top global stars.
The replacement of Ms Rai in L'Oreal's 'Happy New Year' campaign caps a miserable few months for a woman still regarded as a classical Indian beauty. Newspaper columnists have criticised her for appearing to have put on weight, while her appearance on the cover of the Indian edition of Elle magazine sparked a controversy over her skin colour.
It was claimed the photographs had been altered to make Ms Rai appear white.
Bollywood commentator and editor of The Hindustan Times' Brunch magazine Poonam Saxena said there was a growing perception in India that Ms Rai's reign was now over.
"It marks the waning of her star. She's had some films which have not been successful, she's not looking herself, she has put on a bit of weight, she's married, 37, and it appears she has had her time. That's the perception," she said.
Ms Pinto, she said, represented a more Westernised Indian image. "It's not surprising. In India she is seen as stylish, sexy and attractive, but she would not fit into the Indian definition of beauty which looks lovely in a sari. That's not Freida Pinto."
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