Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, the OG Indian queen of the French Riviera, recently made her 22nd appearance at the Cannes Film Festival 2025. She wore a custom Banarasi saree handwoven in kadwa ivory with a tissue drape. Aishwarya complemented the look with gorgeous rubies. Despite all the grandeur, a specific feature of her look grabbed eyeballs left, right, and centre.

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Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s sindoor statement at Cannes 2025

The bright red sindoor in the middle parting of her hair kept everyone talking. People started flooding the internet with assumptions. Was it her way to shut down divorce rumours? Was it a PR move? Or was Aishwarya simply representing the ancient Indian tradition as a married woman? Soon enough, we also saw another actor, Aditi Rao Hydari, walking the red carpet, wearing an elegant red saree and sindoor. The red line is considered one of the most prominent markers of a married woman in Hindu tradition. Or as Deepika Padukone’s Om Shanti Om character puts it, “Ishwar ka ashirwaad hota hai ek chutki sindoor, suhagan ka sar ka taaj hota hai ek chutki sindoor, har aurat ka khwaab hota hai ek chutki sindoor.” But is sindoor actually this significant or is it just one of those traditions that carry on until someone questions it?

Is sindoor relevant in Hindu tradition?

In a conversation on AfterHours With AAE, Pandit Acharya Vidya Prasad Mishra got candid with host Bani Anand about weddings, Indian customs of seven pheras, kanyadaan, and so on. He also talked about the relevance of the age-old tradition of a husband putting sindoor in his wife’s hair parting.

Listen to him here:

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After a thorough research of scriptures, Pandit Acharya Vidya Prasad Mishra couldn’t find a scientific explanation behind the importance of sindoor. He denied its cultural basis, saying, “The chant used during the application of the sindoor doesn’t even mention the word sindoor anywhere. The whole mantra is only introducing the bride—she is beautiful, she has a good heart, she speaks well, and she is knowledgeable. Look at her—it’s only introducing her in a way.”

The gender bias behind sindoor

Pandit Acharya Vidya Prasad Mishra struggles to find firm evidence to support the scientific logic of wearing sindoor. “Because the mantra does not signify the application of sindoor in any way. Yet, the sindoor ritual is carried out while reciting the same chant,” he said. Pandit Mishra also talked about a common misconception people cite justifying the practice. “This vermilion is applied in the maang, and it’s said that the mind, or intellect, must have the desire or demand to fulfil it… It could have been applied somewhere else too, on the hand or anywhere else…But in this tradition, no big science is seen,” he explained.

Bani also called out the gendered undertones of this practice, as only women are made to wear sindoor along with other accessories like anklets and bangles. Pandit Mishra agreed and emphasised a woman’s choice to wear them. He further encouraged dismissing other people’s opinions about women who prefer not to apply sindoor, choosing personal peace over societal norms.

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