India's cultural power on display at Cannes with folk artist Mame Khan walking the coveted red carpet. The 75th edition of this 12-day prestigious fete commenced on May 17 where India is being celebrated as the first 'Country of Honour'. This is in tribute to the India celebrating the 75th year of its independence.
Cannes red carpet witnessed the largest ever delegation from India this year, which was led by Minister of Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur. The star-studded delegation included actors R Madhavan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vani Tripathi, music maestro AR Rahman, Grammy awards winner Ricky Kej, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and lyricist Prasoon Joshi.
During the inauguration of the Indian pavilion, Indian stars gathered under one roof and Mame Khan spread some desi vibes by singing a beautiful melody. Deepika Padukone, Pooja Hegde, Tamannaah Bhatia and Urvashi Rautela stepped forward to dance to his soulful tune making the moment extra special for the audience.
Over the years, India has held a special place in the festival hosted in France. In 1982, legendary filmmaker Mrinal Sen was the first Indian to serve on the jury panel. In 1990, noted filmmaker Mira Nair won the Audience Award and made it to the list of awardees in the Golden Camera Category for her iconic 'Salaam Bombay!'
Deepika Padukone, who has been a regular at the festival since 2017, is making her first official appearance as part of the nine-member jury. The actor left everyone mesmerized with her retro look on her debut.
Cannes is synonymous with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's and this year she marked 20 years since her debut. Dressed in a black floral ensemble by Dolce and Gabbana, the 'Pink Panther' actor walked the red carpet to attend the screening of Tom Cruise's 'Top Gun: Maverick.'
The Indian films that are being screened included R Madhavan's directorial debut 'Rocketry- The Nambi Effect,' 'Alpha Beta Gamma' in Hindi', Nikhil Mahajan's Marathi film 'Godavari,' Maithili movie 'Dhuin', Malyalam film 'Niraye Thathakalulla Maram' and 'Boomba Ride' which which is film in Tani language spoken by the Mising people.
An exclusive screening will be held for Satyajit Ray's 1970 film Pratidwandi.
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