Cannes 2022 opens to glits & glamour. India bags spotlight as Deepika, Tamannaah take over red carpet

The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival opened on Tuesday with glits and glamour as one of the most-anticipated events of the year returned in high-wattage form after the Covid-19 rules were relaxed.

With masks off, a parade of Oscar winners returned to the red carpet of Cannes to attend the world’s leading cinema get-together after two years of pause caused by the coronavirus pandemic. The prestigious film festival, which will be held between May 17 and May 28, has chosen India as the ‘country of honour’ at the Marche du Cinema. This year, six Indian films will be officially screened, with actress Deepika Padukone joining the group of top jury at the Cannes film festival.

Opening With The ‘Final Cut’

The glittery night on Tuesday opened with the film ‘Final Cut’, a comedy love letter to film-making and Z-list zombie films from the team that delivered the Oscar-winning stellar ‘The Artist’.

The French remake by film-maker Michel Hazanavicius of the 2017 Japanese film ‘One Cut of the Dead’, stars Romain Duris and Bérénice Bejo. The zombie comedy revolves around a crew remaking the film depicted in the original movie. The film received a customary standing ovation after the screening which lasted for about four minutes, according to reports.

Zelenskyy Address

Despite the allure and attraction, Cannes has not forgotten Ukraine, which is fighting a war against Russia. The film festival is devoting special attention to the situation in the war-hit country, with President of Ukraine Volodymyr Zelenskyy giving a virtual address at the gala opening ceremony on Tuesday.

During his virtual speech, the president spoke at length about the connection between cinema and reality as he referenced films such as Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Apocalypse Now’ and Charlie Chaplin’s ‘The Great Dictator’ as inspirations to him.

“Will cinema keep quiet, or will it speak up? If there is a dictator, if there is a war for freedom, once again, everything depends on our unity. Can cinema stay outside of this unity?” Zelenskyy said, adding that “Chaplin’s dictator did not destroy the real dictator, but thanks to cinema, thanks to this film, cinema did not stay quiet.”

The war in Ukraine is expected to be a regular presence in Cannes. The festival has barred Russians with ties to the government. Set to screen are several films from prominent Ukrainian film-makers, including Sergei Loznitsa’s documentary ‘The Natural History of Destruction’.

“Hundreds of people are dying every day. They won’t get up again after the clapping at the end,” Zelenskyy said.

The Indian Touch

At the 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the spotlight is on India. On the opening day, a delegation from India, led by I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, walked the red carpet. Thakur was joined by R Madhavan, Ricky Kej, Vani Tripathi, Shekhar Kapur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui and Prasoon Joshi as they represented India.

Apart from them, Rajasthani singer Mame Khan also grabbed major attention at the Cannes Film Festival 2022 as he became the first folk artist from India to walk the red carpet on Tuesday.

Khan has been a playback singer for several popular Bollywood films such as ‘No One Killed Jessica’, ‘Luck By Chance’ and more. On the red carpet, the singer showed off his Indian heritage dressed in traditional Rajasthani attire.

Oscar-winner musician AR Rahman also attended the opening of Cannes 2022. The singer, who will make his directorial debut at the film festival with his upcoming film ‘Le Musk’, shared the first post from the glittery event.

Indian Ladies At The Red Carpet

Bollywood beauties – Deepika Padukone, Urvashi Rautela, Tamannaah Bhatia, grabbed major attention at the glamourous film festival as the ladies took over the red carpet in their dazzling outfits.

Padukone, who is also on the jury duty this year at the Cannes, showed up in a retro gold and black saree, designed by Sabyasachi. With heavy eye make-up, the actress tied he hair in a bun and accessorised it with a golden hairband.

Earlier during the day, the actress donned a Sabyasachi ensemble highlighting Indian elements as she paired a printed shirt with an emerald green pants.

Rautela made her debut at the Cannes this yea as she attended the screening of the zombie comedy film ‘Final Cut’. The actress wore a Tony Ward one-shoulder gown and kept her look elegant and simple with her hair tied in a neat bun and flaunting statement jewellery to complete the attire.

For her first red carpet appearance at the Cannes, Tamannaah Bhatia opted for a bubble hem Gauri and Nainika gown with a trail. The actress looked graceful as she completed her look with dramatic eye make-up and heavy shinny jewellery. The star’s red carpet was styled by Shaleena Nathani.