Cannes: In a historic moment for Indian folk arts, Mame Khan became the first-ever folk artist to open a Red Carpet for the Indian contingent at Cannes ever. Khan, a film composer and folk singer from Rajasthan, personified the influence of folk culture on Indian cinema. The Festival, which gathers every year the who’s who of the global movie industry, begins today and will continue till May 28, 2022,
The festival is special this year for its celebration of Indian cinema’s prowess as India is the first-ever official Country of Honour at Marche du Film. India is also a “Country of Honour” at the Cannes Next, under which 5 new Startups would be given an opportunity to pitch to the Audio-Visual Industry.
Today, in a star-studded presence on the Red Carpet, Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur led the largest ever Indian official delegation of eleven celebrities walking together on the inaugural event at the Festival.
Putting on display the diversity and uniqueness of Indian cinema, the glamorous red carpet contingent comprised film celebrities from across India. Consisting of eleven members walking towards the legendary stairs of the Palais des Festivals, the delegation carried all the symbolism of India’s ambition to become a global cinema hub.
This year, cinema from South India is in the spotlight at Cannes. R. Madhavan, an actor and producer who has been involved in movies shot in six different languages (Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Kannada, Hindi and English) was a good example of the staggering diversity of Indian cinema. As a major highlight of India’s participation at this edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the World Premiere of the Movie “Rocketry” produced by Madhavan is scheduled to be showcased at the Palais des Festivals on May 19, 2022.
Two Telugu cinema superstars, Tamannah Bhatia and Pooja Hegde, also made their dazzling appearance as part of the delegation.
Ambassadors from different regional cinemas were included in the delegation, sending the signal to the world that India – which boasts of 25 regional film industries – has many different flavours and styles to offer in terms of film production.
Delegation members in order of appearance on Red Carpet
1. Mame Khan, a famous folk singer from Rajasthan
2. Shekhar Kapur, Globally acclaimed Director
3. Pooja Hegde, Actress
4. Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Actor
5. Tamannah Bhatia, Actress
6. Anurag Thakur, Head of the delegation and the Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting, India
7. R Madhavan, Actor, Director, and Producer
8. AR Rahman, leading singer & Music Composer
9. Prasoon Joshi, Chairman CBFC & renowned lyricist
10. Vani Tripathi, Producer, Member CBFC, Indian film personality
11. Ricky Kej, the two times Grammy award winner and musician
– global bihari bureau
