/> We've heard of the mountain coming to Mohamed. But ever heard of a film being flown down to an actor because she is too busy to attend the screening?

That's precisely what enterprising producer J. Murli Manohar did. "I took my film to Chennai where Ash was shooting for Mani Rathnam. It was very important for her to see the film because she had to represent it along with me at Cannes," revealed Dr Murli.

It's worth mentioning that Aishwarya couldn't watch Paul Berges' The Mistress Of Spices because of her work schedule and was therefore in no position to promote the film.

It's debatable whether Mistress... would've been less disastrous of its leading lady had helped in its marketing. The fact however remains that Paul Berges and his wife Gurinder Chaddha gave innumerable interviews in the Western and Indian press. Everywhere they were asked why the leading lady was missing.

The makers of Provoked certainly don't want an instant-replay of the Mistress scenario.

Says Dr Murli, "I'm very clear about the fact that Ash is the soul of Provoked. There's no film without her. I'll ensure her participation.."

Interestingly producer Karan Johar and his leading lady Preity Zinta are in Cannes with their film Kabhi Alvidaa Na Kehna, though the film's other leading lady Rani Mukherjee cannot attend due to family commitments.

Dr Murli who's also in India to finalize a big film with Sammir Dattani in the lead, is unperturbed by the naysayers' cynicism.

"My director Jagmohan Mundra and I are very confident about Provoked. We don't think Ash's international career has suffered a debacle because of Mistress Of Spices. Everyone who has seen Provoked so far feels it's her best performance to date. We're confident this will be her real international launch."