The Cannes Film Festival, set to roll its 75th anniversary edition from May 17, will sparkle with star power. With the 12-day event, often considered the queen of all, having had to cancel its 2020 edition because of the coronavirus pandemic and tone down the one the following year, Cannes is now in an unstoppable mode. It has assembled some top Hollywood/European/Asian actors and directors who would walk the famed red carpet.
The Festival’s strongman, Thierry Fremaux, has been credited with upping the scale of the Festival ever since he took over its reins in 2001, including building bridges with American studios and directors.
But he has not been able to do much for India, reportedly only after Nigeria in movie production. Even Hollywood comes way behind India, which produces about 2000 films annually.
However, this has not stopped Indian stars, mostly from Bollywood, flying into Cannes to walk the red carpet. Movies or no movies from the country. In fact, India has not been in Competition for a very long time, and this year all that we have is Shaunak Sen’s All That Breathes, an excellent documentary, which will play in a special section. Apart from this, Satyajit Ray’s Pratidwandi and Aravindan’s Thamp (original title Thampu) will be part of Cannes Classics. Both have been digitally restored.
These Indian inclusions may, at best, be seen as consolation prizes.
But this will not stop Indian stars – like Deepika Padukone (on the main jury) and actors like Akshay Kumar, Nawazzudin Sidique and Pooja Hegde among others – from walking up the red carpet for the opening night gala. But where is Aishwarya Rai Bachchan? She has been as permanent a fixture as the red carpet at Cannes for years.
In contrast, European and American actors and directors usually never arrive at Cannes unless their films are playing.
This year, we would have James Gray (Armageddon Time), David Cronenberg (Crimes of the Future), Joseph Kosinski and Tom Cruise (Top Gun: Maverick), Kelly Reichardt (Showing Up), George Miller (Three Thousand Years of Longing) and Baz Luhrmann (Elvis).
In what seemed like an emotional quote, Fremaux told the media recently: “My first red carpet was for Moulin Rouge! with Baz Luhrmann and Nicole Kidman in 2001, and it will be engraved in my memory forever… I’m happy to reunite with Baz this year. We’re blood brothers!” Wow.
Fremaux is said to have been responsible for picking some great talent from the world over, including Korean helmer Bong Joon Ho, whose 2019 Parasite won the Palme d’Or and an historic Best Picture Oscar; and Ryūsuke Hamaguchi, whose Drive My Car won the Screenplay Trophy at Cannes and went on to clinch the Oscar for International Feature Film in March.
The Festival’s prestigious basket has many other Palm d’Or winners. The two names that top the list are Kore-eda Hirokazu (with his Japan) and Ruben Östlund (Triangle of Sadness).
The Festival has gone farther with titles from Norway, Iceland, Ukraine, Costa Rica, Iran (never mind its nuclear ambition) and Egypt.
Great, but I wonder why India has been eluding Fremaux’s gaze. Maybe, he just does not care. Or, the country with over 1.4 billion population has not been able to turn out movies of international calibre. Maybe, they are too focussed on the Indian market.
Read all the Latest Movies News here
Comments
0 comment