Aishwarya Rai together with acclaimed filmmaker Madhur Bhandarkar launched the first look of their upcoming bold and glamourous movie "Heroine", which delves into the behind the scenes life of an actress in the Indian film industry, at the 64th Cannes International Film Festival.

'Heroine' is a film that the team was very excited about and yes I have just agreed to come on board," said Aishwarya who will essay a superstar in it.

"Madhur has been speaking to me for many years to collaborate together on a film and I am glad we are finally working together on 'Heroine'. He is the director of multiple award winning films in India and hence, as an actor I'm certainly looking forward to this experience," added the 37-year-old.

Bhandarkar takes his legacy of bringing women-centric issues on celluloid forward with "Heroine". Earlier, his critically and commercially acclaimed cinematic offerings "Chandni Bar", "Page 3", "Satta", "Corporate" and "Fashion" too focused on various issues related to women.

Based on the life and times of a superstar Bollywood actress, "Heroine" promises to be an entertaining, daring, emotional, shocking, glamorous and scandalous behind the scenes account of showbiz. The film will take a peep into make up rooms and vanity vans to show the politics, the secrets and the lies, the highs of fame and the depths of failure of an actress.

The film is going on the floors next month and Bhandarkar considers it as his "magnum opus" and feels only Aishwarya could fit the role.

"Unveiling the first look here is certain to be an auspicious start to the movie which goes into production mid this year. 'Heroine' is an extremely glamorous yet bold story of the internal journey of a star, which is sure to appeal to audiences across the globe and therefore Aishwarya was a perfect choice for the film - no one could have essayed the role better," said Bhandarkar.

The first poster, unveiled at the ongoing international film extravaganza, looks like a cover of a glossy cine magazine. The focus is one Aishwarya's angelic eyes, and tags like "She's No.1" and "REVEALED: Blow by blow account of what happened that night" find place on the poster.

Since being on the cover page of a leading cinema magazine is given so much importance in Bollywood, the poster's idea only goes to show that Bhandarkar will remain true to the essence of his subject, like always.

The film is being produced by UTV Motion Pictures and its head honcho Ronnie Screwvala was also present at the launch. He had earlier worked with Bhandarkar on "Fashion", and with Aishwarya on "Jodhaa Akbar" and "Guzaarish".

"UTV and Madhur's combination in 'Fashion' combined the right blend of reality, something that Madhur excels in, with glamour, and it was mounted on a large canvas. With 'Heroine', we take it to the next level and when you see the movie finally you will know it was written only with someone as talented and expressive and stunning as Aishwarya in mind," he said.