On Tuesday, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur led an 11-member Indian delegation to the Cannes Film Festival in France, wearing traditional attire. On the Cannes red carpet, the I & B minister advocated ‘vocal for local’. To celebrate India’s weaving community, he wore a cream-colored bandhgala.
That’s not it. At the inauguration of India Pavilion, Anurag Thakur also went on to announce an incentive scheme for foreign cinema being shot in India. He said, “I’m delighted to announce today in Cannes an incentive scheme for audio-visual co-production & shooting of foreign films in India with a cash incentive of up to 30% with a cap of USD 260,000.”
The I&B Minister further shared Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s message. “India has a lot of stories to be told and the country truly possesses the immense potential to become the content hub of the world,” the message read.
The inauguration of India Pavilion also saw Deepika Padukone speak about the future of Indian cinema as she sat next to Anurag Thakur, all dressed in a power suit and looking stunning as usual. The actress said, “India is at the cusp of greatness, this is just the beginning…there will come a day I truly believe where India won’t have to be at Cannes, but Cannes will be in India.” Felt goosebumps? We did.
Meanwhile, Anurag Thakur, along with music legend AR Rahman, composer Ricky Kej, lyricist and poet Prasoon Joshi, veteran filmmaker Shekhar Kapur, and superstar Kamal Haasan, graced the red carpet to see French director Michel Hazanavicius’ opening film Coupez (Final Cut). As part of the delegation, Tamannah Bhatia and Pooja Hegde also made a stunning appearance.
Mame Khan, a traditional Rajasthani Manganiyar singer, was the first folk performer to perform during the Indian contingent’s red carpet event at Cannes 2022.
