Cannes 2022: What is Deepika Padukone’s qualification to judge world cinema?

Why was Deepika Padukone invited as a jury member at the Cannes Film festival this year? Don’t get me wrong. I think she is lovely, she’s intelligent and diligent too. But I don’t think her exposure to word cinema, or even Indian cinema, is sufficient to warrant such a huge responsibility. Of course, her fans are going to be most irked at my questioning her validity at Cannes. I am not saying she as a Cannes regular should take a break. I would have loved to see her on the other side, on the red carpet where she rightfully belongs, and where the Indian representation this year was laughably spectral. It seems anyone and everyone who could afford the trip just took off for Cannes and, like pao-bhaji stalls on Juhu Beach, put up stalls promoting their films, some of them not even complete or anywhere near it. Given the preposterous Indian representation I would have loved to see Deepika on the red carpet. She has the body of work and the presence for the honour. But jury duty? That was a bit over-the-top. I feared there would be some kind of a goof-up, and sure enough Deepika’s speech about her responsibilities as a jury member, had India cringing and the rest of the world immersed in collective head-scratching. Deepika said, and I mortifyingly quote: “I think we are all aware of the fact that it is a huge responsibility. But, I think, we have also made a promise to each other yesterday that we are not going to burden ourselves with that responsibility. I think the idea is to remind ourselves of that audience, or of that young child who’s grown up watching movies and been inspired. I think cinema is such a powerful tool, such a powerful medium, it has the ability to impact people’s lives and touch and influence people’s lives. So, I think, for the next two weeks…. that we have this burden and this responsibility and actually just enjoy the creative process, that’s sort of what we are all here to do. I think we are all creative people. I don’t think any of us have the capacity to judge, or critique, or criticize.” Much of the above makes no sense, especially when you are representing India at a world cinema forum as powerful as the Cannes Film Festival. The above ramblings would have been relatively okay as a thankyou speech at an awards function. But Cannes? Lady, you have to be kidding. Normally actors get their speeches for such occasions ghost-written, unless you are Shabana Azmi or Smriti Irani or even Shah Rukh Khan who has a way with words. Deepika, sadly doesn’t. So, the next time she is invited for something as posh as this, she must have her speech in place. Having worked with Sanjay Leela Bhansali thrice-over she should know more than anyone else:  preparedness is all. Subhash K Jha is a Patna-based film critic who has been writing about Bollywood for long enough to know the industry inside out. He tweets at @SubhashK_Jha. Read all the  Latest News ,  Trending News ,  Cricket News ,  Bollywood News ,  India News  and  Entertainment News  here. Follow us on  Facebook,  Twitter and  Instagram.