Indian delegation led by I&B Minister Anurag Thakur lights up red carpet at Cannes

Dressed in traditional attire, the 11-member Indian delegation led by I&B Minister Anurag Thakur on Tuesday walked the red carpet at the inaugural Cannes Film Festival in France, where India has been named the 'country of honour' at the Marche du Film, the business counterpart of the marquee event.

Mame Khan, the traditional Manganiyar singer from Rajasthan, became the first folk artiste to open the red carpet event for the Indian contingent at Cannes.

Donning a cream-coloured bandhgala, Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Thakur, along with music maestro A R Rahman, composer Ricky Kej, lyricist and poet Prasoon Joshi, and veteran director Shekhar Kapur, walked the red carpet to attend the screening of opening film "Coupez" (Final Cut) by French director Michel Hazanavicius.

The ten celebrities, who accompanied the minister, included musical maestros, renowned filmmakers and actors who represent a kaleidoscope of diversity from various regions, languages, and mainstream and OTT-led cinema. Ambassadors from regional cinemas were part of 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.

R Madhavan, an actor and producer who worked in movies in six different languages, and Telugu superstars Tamannah Bhatia and Pooja Hegde made their dazzling appearance as part of the delegation. Vani Tripathi Tikoo, actress and member of the Central Board of Film Certification, was also part of the Indian delegation to the festival, which is special this year for its celebration of Indian cinema.

India has been named as the first-ever official 'country of honour' at Marche du Film, the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival. India is also a ‘country of honour’ at the 'Cannes Next', under which five new startups would be given an opportunity to pitch to the audio-visual industry. Ten professionals will participate in the Animation Day networking. As a major highlight of India's participation in this edition of the Cannes Film Festival, the World Premiere of the movie “Rocketry”, produced by R Madhavan, is scheduled to be showcased at the Palais des Festivals on May 19.

Image: Twitter/@ianuragthakur