MUMBAI: The Indian film industry is determined to make a mark at this year's Cannes Film Festival. With the Bollywood beauty queen Aishwarya Rai being nominated as one of the jury members, the next in line is Eros International screening Armaan (Desire), the most talked about movie of the year .

Armaan which marks the directoral debut of well-known scriptwriter Honey Irani will premiere on 17 May 2003. The movie has an impressive star cast like Bollywood legend Amitabh Bachchan who was recently voted as one of the 100 greatest movie stars of all time by a BBC poll, Anil Kapoor, Preity Zinta and Gracy Singh.

According to a release, the movie is a family drama set against the backdrop of a hospital owned by Dr Sinha (Amitabh Bachchan), whose dream is to run a state of the art hospital which is free from discrimination. Dr Akash (Anil Kapoor), his son is as dedicated to his profession as his father. However, the arrival of Sonya (Preity Zinta) a rich arrogant woman, throws him into emotional turmoil by attempting to buy his love through a financial agreement. The unusual climax soars as Akash is torn between his love for fellow colleague Neha (Gracy Singh) and fulfilling his father's dream.

Eros International, the distributors of Bollywood films have been part of many events such as the BAFTAs and the Palm Springs Festival. They will be holding a pre-screening party for the event as well.