A yellow, embroidered kurti. A magenta corset. A black dress with a distended dog-collar. Monica Bellucci may well have stolen the thunder (even as someone clearly stole her clothes at the The Matrix Reloaded premiere) but Aishwarya Rai fluttered brightly-maybe a bit too brightly for western eyes-in the Riviera sun. Neeta Lulla's technicolour clothes (which Rai had transported to Cannes for the 56th film festival in five suitcases) blazed on Rai in comparison with her more subdued fellow jury members, actors Meg Ryan and Karin Viard, but they did enough to herald the incipient arrival of the Indian brigade.

CENTRE OF ATTRACTION: Rai on the red carpet leading to the Palais des Festivals

In Delhi and Mumbai, hectic preparations continued till the last minute. Representatives of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) were busy counting the number of India parties they had to attend (as many as19 at last count) as Indian filmmakers like Bobby Bedi firmed up plans to pitch their movies to international distributors-in Bedi's case, the project is a blue chip one, The Rising, directed by Ketan Mehta, co-scripted by Farrukh Dhondy and starring Aamir Khan. The first shoot of its five-month schedule is planned for Uzbekistan in July and Bedi is confident of summoning interest in it.

In Cannes, having just landed from London, Eros International's Kishore Lulla could not wait to set the India ball rolling. At Bollywood Night at the Mahatma Bar and Restaurant at Savoy, British Asian music duo Raj and Pablo of London unplugged the star fever even as Lulla prepared for some serious business. "We have been coming to the Cannes film market for over 15 years but after the splash we made with Devdas last year, we hope this year we will do good business.'' The films he is pinning his hopes on: Honey Irani's Armaan, Nagesh Kukunoor's Bollywood Calling and Ram Gopal Varma's Company. "We had planned the world premiere of J.P. Dutta's LoC, but he could not complete it in time," says Lulla.

This year, more than the last, mainstream movies will be sharing space with more edgy arthouse cinema, whether it be Sangeeth Sivan's Churaa Liya Hai Tumne or Murali Nair's Arimpara, produced by the National Film Development Corporation and the only Indian film to be screened in the Un Certain Regard section. While no typical Bollywood film has made the official cut this year, CII will be screening 39 films at the festival market to give the world a glimpse of what India has to offer. There is another bit of India outside the official hoopla of Cannes, the launch of Le Divorce, directed by James Ivory, produced by Ismail Merchant and starring Naomi Watts and Glenn Close. No doubt, it will be accompanied by some homegrown cooking by chef Ismail.

There is every attempt to transform the staid Indian cocktail (last year the only international celebrity was Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen) with the tamasha that Bollywood is known for. On May 19, CII will organise an "India Evening" at the Carlton Beach resort where Shilpa Shetty will embody the Indian heroine through the ages-presumably in her inimitable hip-swinging way. Lulla will dress her, for which she is flying to Cannes, carrying more clothes for Rai. TV host Simi Garewal will anchor the special show choreographed by Priya Nargis Dutt. Bollywood's newest convert, Ravi Shankar Prasad, information and broadcasting minister, will be in attendance.

And there will be enough parties to keep him busy. Shekhar Kapur will host one. Bollywood financier Ashok Hinduja will host another at the Riviera home he co-owns with brothers G.P. and S.P.. Will they match the flyaway glamour of Penelope Cruz in the swashbuckling Fanfan La Tulipe? Or the down-at-heel artsiness of Lars Von Trier's Dogville, where Nicole Kidman is again slumming for success? If the paparazzi do not have their hands full with porno starlets and Ms Bellucci's neckline, they will find plenty to do in chronicling the clash of Kidman and Cruz, one former and one current flame of Hollywood superstar Tom Cruise.

A catfight on the Croisette? Now that might be enough to take the glare off Aishwarya Rai's clothes.