Desperate for fame, so-called Indian representatives at Cannes are doing more harm than good to Indian cinema at the international platform, says Karan Bhardwaj
last year, as many as five films were screened at the Cannes Film Festival. They were Miss lovely by Ashim Ahluwalia, Peddlers by Vasan Bala, Gangs of Wasseypur by Anurag Kashyap, Kalpana by Uday Shankar and Project The Untold Tale by Shivajee Chandrabhushan. What grabbed the attention of the Indian journals and magazines was the quality of these films and their makers on the sidelines of few regular prominent figures walking the red carpet. But it seems that the 100th year of Indian cinema has changed everything for Bollywood at Cannes, probably for the dubious reasons.
An overly excited parade of Indian actors, comprising Sonam Kapoor, Mallika Sherawat, Sherlyn Chopra and Freida Pinto are seen posing for the shutterbugs desperately, having no solid reason to do it. On top of it, their fashion faux pas continue to hurt the sentiments of loyal fans of Indian cinema as well as fashion. Unfortunately, the laudable Indian contingent mainly of Irrfan Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Anurag Kashyap, Farhan Akhtar and a few others are paying heavy price for it! They are facing the media apathy due to the presence of bare attention seekers like Sherlyn Chopra who are fuelling the tabloids for their lewd-transparent dresses. What movies are they part of anywayIJ Being the ambassadors of a beauty brand gives them reason enough to walk the red carpet but what about Indian cinemaIJ
It is also grossly surprising that the shahenshaha of Bollywood Amitabh Bachchan is dipping into the moments of shocking fame over his blink-and-miss appearance in The Great Gatsby. Does he really have to be at the mercy of Hollywood at this point of his careerIJ
Why have we forgotten that India is a guest country at Cannes for completing 100 yearsIJ The tribute to our cinema would have been paid by appearing in some legendary avatars which have inspired the millions of Indians over years.
The fashion sense of Vidya Balan may well be criticised today but her presence at Cannes is congratulatory! She is among the jury panel. Way back in 1946, Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar not only participated but also won the top prize at the French gala which had then resumed after six years post the world war. In the following years, movies like Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram’s Amar Bhupali (1951), Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zamin (1954), Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, Mrinal Sen’s Kharji (1982) earned accolades.
However, decades later, Aishwarya Rai’s debut in 2002 at Cannes’ red carpet left media berserk. Touted as the most beautiful woman, she further set the benchmark after becoming the first Indian actor to make it to the Cannes jury in 2003. A decade later, her association with Cannes is on, courtesy a beauty brand. We hope that in coming years, Cannes would appreciate the true spirit of Indian cinema and would not just serve the purpose of paparazzi!