This year, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s annual trip to Cannes is a very rushed affair, despite it being a milestone for her – this will be the 42-year-old actress’ 15th year at the film festival.

Aishwarya was spotted at Mumbai airport on the night of May 12, flying to Nice airport just a day before her first scheduled red carpet appearance. As ever, she was accompanied by her mother Brinda Rai and daughter Aaradhya.

Aishwarya was dressed for comfort in black, topped by a long cape-like jacket. She dressed her daughter in a white top and black pants.

Aaradhya, now four, found the bank of cameras waiting at the airport difficult to deal with. Aishwarya has so far taken her daughter with her to Cannes every year since 2013 and little Aaradhya is as much a veteran of Cannes as her mother now.

Aishwarya’s delayed departure has been in aid of her new film Sarbjit, which she has been busy promoting. She will walk the red carpet on May 13 and May 14. She’s also going to have to skip the amfAR Gala which she attends annually – Sarbjit releases on May 20 and the Gala is to be held on May 19. Aishwarya’s vacant spot will be filled by her colleague Sonam Kapoor.

“It’s an honor to be a part of the esteemed amfAR gala. I cannot stress enough the importance of AIDS research in our time. This foundation is doing such incredible work dedicated towards raising funds for life-saving research programs that help the fight against AIDS. I am looking forward to meeting the wonderful team that chairs amfAR and hope to contribute to this cause in every way possible,” Sonam, who will attend the Gala for the first time, said in a statement.

Sarbjit, which is directed by Omung Kumar, is an important film for Aishwarya Rai Bachchan. It is her second film after last year’s poorly-received Jazbaa – which was the movie that marked her return after a five-year break – and the trailer of the film has generated very good press for the actress’ performance. She stars as Dalbir Kaur, the sister of Indian farmer Sarabjit Singh who died in a Pakistani prison. Randeep Hooda plays the titular character and Richa Chadha appears as his wife.

The Cannes Film Festival, which began on May 11, has already seen major stars such as George Clooney, Julia Roberts, Blake Lively and Kristen Stewart attend, as well as L’Oreal ambassadors Julianne Moore, Eva Longoria and Naomi Watts. Sonam, who walks the red carpet on May 14 and 16, is in London en route Cannes.