One of the most prestigious international film festivals, the Cannes Film Festival at the French Riviera in Italy, is all set to start on May 17, 2022. It is the 75th year of the film festival and over the years, it has seen a steady list of Indian celebrities in attendance – from Sonam Kapoor to Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut. Oh, and how can we forget Aishwarya Rai Bachchan – a mainstay at Cannes since 2002! In 2019, global star and new mommy Priyanka Chopra Jonas and television (TV) actor Hina Khan made her debut at the Cannes red carpet.
The usual names aside, what makes Cannes even more exciting for India this year is that a bunch of Indian stars, including R Madhavan, Helly Shah, and Pooja Hegde, will be making their debut on the coveted red carpet. Last week, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting shared a list of star names from the film and TV industry, who will be representing India at the Cannes Film Festival for the first time. And we’re expecting an array of creative films and head-turning fashion moments starting tomorrow.
Scroll through our list of Indian celebrities making their debut at the 75th annual Cannes Film Festival to find out who these stars are.
Pooja Hegde
The Radhe Shyam actor will be at the French Riviera for the first two days and she will walk alongside celebrated Indian and international actors. “Cannes represents a unique celebration of those barriers being removed - through the coming together of Film, Culture and Fashion. The opportunity to be attending and representing India is one I will always cherish and hope to continue to do so for the rest of my life,” an elated Pooja told the Times Of India during an interview.
R Madhavan
Actor R Madhavan’s Rocketry: The Nambi Effect will be premiering at the Cannes Film Festival on May 19, 2022. It is produced by the Decoupled actor and the film is a biographical drama based on the life of former scientist and aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan, who worked at the Indian Space Research Organisation. The actor will be attending the screening for the same.
AR Rahman
Oscar and Grammy-winning Indian composer AR Rahman will be heading to the French Riviera to attend the premiere of his directorial debut Le Musk at the Cannes XR programme. It is a 36-minute film that incorporates virtual reality into the narrative and tells the story of Juliet Merdinian, an heiress and musician. This immersive cinematic piece employs scent in addition to music and motion in the project.
Tamannaah Bhatia
As we all know, India’s participating at the Cannes 2022 as the first ‘Country of Honour’ at the Marche Du Film. Tamannaah will be part of the delegation that is going from India to the event along with Pooja Hegde. The actor had taken to Twitter to share her joy at this opportunity.
Helly Shah
After TV actor and Bigg Boss fame Hina Khan in 2019, another TV star is set to rock the Cannes red carpet. Helly Shah, who is known for her role in the series Swaragini, will be representing a beauty brand at the international event. She will also be launching the poster of her debut Hindi film Kaya Palat.
Nayanthara
Reports suggest that ahead of her wedding to long-time boyfriend Vignesh Shivan, actor Nayanthara may also be attending the 2022-Cannes Film Festival. Her name was part of the Indian delegation list shared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, however, there has been no official confirmation from the actor or her team yet.