 "Not Deepika Padukone or Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, it was Mrinal Sen who was the first jury member at Cannes Film Festival")
Over the years the Cannes Film Festival has lost its lustre and has become a consumerist place. The festival has become bit too commercial and no more a place for cinema appreciation. By celebrating brand, the right intention of having a film festival is lost.
In 1982, Mrinal Sen was the very first Indian to join the Cannes Film Festival Jury. Those were the days when independent film makers had a place to showcase their works in festivals like Cannes, which was like a heaven on earth. In 1982, his movie Kharij won the jury prize. Many of his movies were showcased at the festival. Sharmila Tagore too has attended the Cannes Film Festival as a jury member. She first attended the festival in 1962 with the Satyajit Ray and later in 2009 she was invited to join the jury.
Between Sen in 1982 and Padukone in 2023, the Cannes jury had invited filmmaker Mira Nair (1990), novelist Arundhati Roy (2000), actors Aishwarya Rai-Bachchan (2003), Nandita Das (2005) and Sharmila Tagore (2009), filmmaker Shekhar Kapur (2010) and actor Vidya Balan (2013).
Leave alone Bollywood, Cannes has now become a market place for the influencers. If the intention was to make the festival inclusive, why are they forgetting the independent filmmakers?
(With added inputs from agencies)
Lachmi Deb Roy is the entertainment editor of Firtspost, Network18. She reviews films and series with a gender lens. Her interviews are called 'Not Just Bollywood' because she takes huge interest in world cinema. OTT over theatrical releases is her preference unless and until its a King Khan film. She takes interest in fashion, food and art reviews too.