Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is now a working mum. Almost eight months after she gave birth to daughter Aaradhya last year in November, Ash is on her first assignment - a print advertisement for Kalyan Jewellers. A still from the photoshoot shows Aishwarya, hair tumbling and eyes raised soulfully in a wash of gold, looking significantly thinner than her full faced and figured appearance at the Cannes Film Festival just two months ago. Suspicious, nearly everyone wants to know if the most beautiful woman in the world has been helped out with a little photoshopping.

For the third time this year, Aishwarya's weight has become the focus of conversations about her. "Slimmer Aishwarya back in business," "Aishwarya is thin and back," "Loses weight, looks hot again," these are just a sample of the headlines Ash has made over the last day or two.

In May, Aishwarya's failure to lose her extra post-pregnancy kilos sparked a public debate after she was photographed leaving a party at the Ambanis' residence looking noticeably heavier than she had in previous pictures. Indignant detractors said she was failing in her job as a superstar. There were also many who jumped to her defence, arguing that superstars were only human and that it was unfair to impose an impossible ideal on Aishwarya. When the time came for Cannes, all eyes were on Ash. She had clearly not shed the extra pounds. Would she embarrass herself on the red carpet? As it turned out, Aishwarya had the last laugh.

She wore an unforgiving grey Elie Saab on the red carpet with a huge smile and a carefree wave of her hand, unmindful of the fact that the dress clung to every plus size curve. She very obviously couldn't care less. We gave her full marks for sheer attitude and, as she smiled and waved, the message was loud and clear - Aishwarya Rai Bachchan wasn't going to be thin to please anybody else.

Except, perhaps, when she's being paid for it. Photoshop or nor photoshop, Ash must have lost some of the weight to shoot for her new commercial. And the rest of us can talk ourselves blue in the face about whether she's going to lose any more or not - we already know she doesn't care.