Cannes 2022: Country of Honour India stands out at the 75th edition of international film festival

The Cannes film festival is arguably the biggest international film festival across the globe and is the holy grail for international filmmakers. This year’s festival has become very dear for all Indians, with the country being the country of honour. 

The event which kickstarted on May 17 at the French Riviera City of Cannes, chose India as the designated country of honour as a tribute to 75 years of Indian independence. Union Minister of Information & Broadcasting Anurag Thakur led the biggest contingent down the prestigious red carpet today. 

The Indian stars included Academy Award-winner AR Rahman, two-time Grammy Award-winner Ricky Kej, actors R Madhavan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Pooja Hegde, Tamannaah Bhatia and Vani Tripathi, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur and lyricist Prasoon Joshi.

As reported by Hindustan Times, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi said about Indian representation at the fest, “Our spellbinding locations, technological prowess in filmmaking, and the talent of young men and women provide a perfect backdrop for filmmakers.”

Among the Indian films that will be screened at the film festival are Satyajit Ray’s 1970-urban drama Pratidwandi and Govindan Aravindan’s restored classic, Thampu. R. Madhavan directed Rocketry, based on the life of ISRO scientist Nambi Narayanan, will also be premiering at Cannes this year. 

Nawazuddin Siddiqui, like most of the stars, also shared photos from the red carpet event, looking dapper in a black tuxedo. "From representing films from India to representing India What an honour #cannes2022 (sic)," he wrote in an Instagram post. 

The Natural History of Destruction, Crimes of the Future, Stars at Noon, One Fine Morning, Paris Memories and Silent Twins are among some of the international films that will look to shine at this year’s Cannes film festival.