MUMBAI: On the insistence of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan to the French Government to postpone the ceremony which was to honour her with the Order of Arts and Letters (Chevalier dans l‘Ordre des Arts et des Lettres) because of the bomb blasts in Mumbai, the organisers promptly complied with it.

As news of the blasts broke, Rai Bachchan said, "This isn‘t the time to celebrate. Me and my family felt it was correct to request the French ambassador to postpone the ceremony to some other time".

This is the second time that the noted actress has been unable to collect this award. In 2008, she had asked it be postponed because of her father‘s health problems.