One last look: India at Cannes 2012

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's wardrobe was the surprise package at Cannes this year. Her first red carpet appearance since giving birth to daughter Aaradhya in November 2011, Ash's outfits were the one thing everyone in India wanted to see most. Her Cannes wardrobe was a closely guarded secret until she made a spectacular appearance in a monochrome maxidress designed by Australian designer Angelo Katsapis, that was forgiving to her post baby curves.

At the amFAR gala, Ash opted for a cream chikankari sari and embroidered jacket by designer duo, Abu Jani-Sandeep Khosla. We thought the ensemble made her look a tad bit matronly, but it was voted her best look by surfers in an NDTV poll.

Aishwarya's third outfit was a floral kaftan by Roberto Cavalli and strappy, high heeled Guiseppe Zanotti shoes.

The fourth dress was a veritable rabbit out the sartorial hat - a dark grey gown by Elie Saab. The dress clung to every plus size curve and revealed every extra pound she gained post pregnancy, and Ash wore it with a big smile and a toss of her head.

Sonam Kapoor's second year at Cannes started with a diaphanous black Gucci gown at the Gucci party.

Next, she showed off her fashion chops in a monochrome print gown by designer Naeem Khan at the L'Oréal/Chopard party.

She was casual yet stylish in a Marni skirt and top, styled by her sister Rhea, for a photocall.

At the Winners dinner, Sonam was quite a head-turner in a red Dolce and Gabbana dress complete with red shoes and lipstick.

Sonam pulled out all fashion stops with her only red carpet dress at the closing ceremony - a black Alexander McQueen tulle gown with a loose updo and fire engine red lips.

Mallika Sherawat's fourth year at Cannes had to be her most subdued yet, style wise. A series of beige-nude dresses were sophisticated but completely out of character for the sexy actress.

But then we spotted her doing the bump and grind with a tall, dark and handsome Antonio Banderas. That's the Mallika we know and love.

Model-turned-actor Arjun Rampal was at the festival as the brand ambassador for Chivas. He walked the red carpet with wife Mehr in a special outfit designed by his good friend and well-known designer Rohit Bal.

Indian export Freida Pinto took this year's red carpet honours in a string of stylish appearances. She wore a Michael Angel gown with a multi-coloured bodice and thigh high split during the premiere of Moonrise Kingdom. She followed up her day look with a striking black sequinned Versace gown, again with a slit, for the Opening Night Dinner.

Freida continued her winning streak in a lime green Atelier Versace dress, a beautiful white Paco Rabanne by Manish Arora dress with golden chain-link detail and, finally, a cropped top, matching skirt and denim sandals at the photocall of her movie, Desert Dancer.

The longest-running entry in this year's Cannes Festival was Anurag Kashyap's Gangs of Wasseypur, which played to full houses, even drawing parallels with Quentin Tarantino. The entire cast and the crew of the film attended the festival with gamchhas around their necks. The two-part revenge saga set in the world of coal mafia was screened in the Director's Fortnight section at the festival.

Kalki Koechlin who was at the festival to support her husband Anurag Kashyap joined the fashion brigade in a nude Dior Resort gown which was complemented with a Brigitte Bardot updo during a photocall.

Set in the lower depths of Mumbai's C grade film industry, Miss Lovely was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the festival. Former Miss India-Earth and Bollywood actress Niharika Singh looked lovely in a milky white gown during the photocall of the movie.