Sharmila Tagore to Alia Bhatt, India weaves a cross-generational tale at Cannes 2025. Souvik Ghosh reports
India bounced with joy when an Indian filmmaker named Payal Kapadia from the country’s film hub Mumbai scripted history winning the Grand Prix Award at the 77th Cannes Film Festival in 2024. A year later, India’s dominance at the French Riviera only expanded with the country’s deeper penetration into the cultural and social arena of the prestigious festival.From 80-year-old Sharmila Tagore to reigning queen of contemporary millennial Bollywood Alia Bhatt and of course, Cannes constant Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, India and its ‘Bharat Pavilion’ booked a place either inside halls or outside at the red carpet in the French city.
Ray reloaded in Cannes
A 4K restored version of India’s cinema legend Satyajit Ray’s 1970 film, Aranyer Din Ratri, was screened to a packed house putting the lost glory of Bengal’s film circuit to life thousands of kilometers away from home.While majority of the cast are no more, Tagore helmed the celebrations of the restored version accomplished by Wes Anderson, a longtime admirer of Ray’s work, in collaboration with The Film Foundation’s World Cinema Project, Film Heritage Foundation, Janus Films, and The Criterion Collection.
An adaptation of Sunil Gangopadhyay’s eponymous novel, the film, which saw the late Soumitra Chatterjee alongside Tagore, received a standing ovation at the hall.
“We shot this film in the middle of the forest. It was very hot and we didn’t have any amenities like an air conditioner. We also stayed in sort of makeshift houses. It was so hot that we could only work from 5:30 am to 9 am and then again from 3 pm to 6 pm. The rest of the time was just adda, bonding and making excellent friends,” Tagore said at Cannes speaking on her experience of shooting the film many decades ago.
An intellectual woman in Aranyer Din Ratri, Tagore at Cannes in 2025 radiated her Bengali charm topping it with a flick of aristocracy wearing a green saree (with blouse as a co-ord set) at the red carpet of the prestigious festival where she had earlier visited twice in different capacities.Tagore was joined by her elder daughter Saba Ali Khan and Simi Garewal, who played a seductive tribal belle in Ray’s best explorations of youth, sexuality and modernity where characters undergo their own journey of self-discovery on a holiday in the forest.
Taking to Instagram, Garewal wrote, “Could never have imagined that 56 years later this film would take me to the red carpet in Cannes. Am so blessed..”
“The restoration of Aranyer Din Ratri is an extraordinary gift, not just to those of us who were part of the film, but to world cinema. To have it premiere at Cannes Film Festival is a beautiful tribute to Satyajit Ray’s timeless brilliance,” she wrote.
“I still remember the silence of the forests, the rhythm of the shoot… Working with Satyajit Ray was like stepping into the mind of a quiet genius – every word, every gesture mattered, and he had this rare ability to make you discover depths in yourself you didn’t know existed”, she added.
Neeraj Ghaywan’s ‘Homebound journey’
A decade after his film Masaan– starring Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal- was premiered at Cannes in 2015, Neeraj Ghaywan recreated his magic at the resort town on the French Riviera with Homebound, which has been inspired by journalist Basharat Peer’s opinion piece Taking Amrit Home published in The New York Times.
“This is where it started for me for Masaan 10 years back and I am back here in the same place. It is my own homebound journey,” said Ghaywan.
Payal Kapadia back in Cannes as jury
A decade after his film Masaan– starring Bollywood actor Vicky Kaushal- was premiered at Cannes in 2015, Neeraj Ghaywan recreated his magic at the resort town on the French Riviera with Homebound, which has been inspired by journalist Basharat Peer’s opinion piece Taking Amrit Home published in The New York Times. Response? A nine-minute standing ovation by the audience that also included Mira Nair (who won Camera d’Or at Cannes in 1988 for Salaam Bombay) and ‘Joyland’ director Saim Sadiq (who won Un Certain Regard Jury Prize in 2022) from Pakistan.
Karan Johar, who led the film in the producer’s capacity, hugged in joy young actors Ishaan Khatter, Vishal Jethwa and Janhvi Kapoor, who played the leads.
Addressing the audience, Neeraj Ghaywan said: “We made this with a lot of passion, I think every filmmaker does that but this film especially took a lot of me. It’s very personal and also universal. This film felt like my own homecoming or my own homebound journey back to the place where it started.”
“This is where it started for me for Masaan 10 years back and I am back here in the same place. It is my own homebound journey,” said Ghaywan. Inspired by Peer’s piece that had traced a childhood friendship of two men- one is Muslim and the other is Dalit- in the Indian context, Ghaywan centred his script on Mohammed Shoaib Ali (Ishaan Khatter) and Chandan Kumar (Vishal Jethwa) who chase a police job that promises them the dignity they’ve long been denied. But as they inch closer to their dream, mounting desperation threatens the bond that holds them together.
A Doll Made Up of Clay: SRFTI students fly from Kolkata
In a surreal journey, students of Kolkata’s Satyajit Ray Film and Television Institute (SRFTI) took a flight to Cannes, courtesy their short film of 24 minutes, A Doll Made Up of Clay, which was screened at the festival that ran from May 13-24.
Featured in the La Cinef section that showcases works by film school students, A Doll Made Up of Clay is about a 23-year-old Nigerian footballer, who sells his father’s land to chase a football career in India, suffers a devastating injury that ends his dreams. Lost and desperate, he seeks escape through the healing power of his ancestral rituals.
It is written and directed by Kokob Gebrehweria Tesfay, an Ethiopian who studies at SRFTI.
Payal Kapadia back in Cannes as jury A year after she was the centre of India’s Cannes conquest with All We Imagine As Light that earned her Grand Prix Award, Payal Kapadia did the honours as the jury of the festival in 2025.
Kapadia, who was the first from India to win the Grand Prix Award, was a part of the jury panel led by French actress Juliette Binoche.
Kapadia walked with other panel members at the red carpet of the festival during the closing ceremony on May 24.
At the Cannes Jury lunch with the Mayor, Kapadia wore a white linen suit and pants giving a boss lady vibe.
In conversation with Sucharita Tyagi, Kapadia looked back to her moment of receiving the award last year in the same city.
When she was asked about that moment, Kapadia said, “I was happy because we were all in a group. I didn’t have to go there alone and in the morning, we did the photoshoot also. So we had already become a little friendly. That’s the main thing. You need to have people that you feel comfortable around.”
The Indian filmmaker walked the red carpet at the opening ceremony in a pants suit designed by her friend and stylist, Indrakshi Pattanaik, and styled it with silver statement jewellery.
Did Aishwarya, Aditi give ‘Operation Sindoor’ message?
Bollywood star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is a regular at Cannes, made headlines more for her vermillion on forehead than her attire this time.
Aishwarya’s vermillion (known as Sindoor in Hindi) is assumed to be a support for Operation Sindoor, a military action India’s Armed Forces carried out against terrorist camps in Pakistan on the intervening night of May 6 and 7.
Many even think it was a move to shut down the divorce rumours with her husband, actor Abhishek Bachchan, that have been doing the rounds for quite some time.
In terms of fashion, the former Miss World looked stunning in a classic white handloom Banarasi saree with rubies around her neck. Her much-anticipated Cannes look was put together by ace fashion designer Manish Malhotra.
Apart from Aishwarya, actress Aditi Rao Hydari complimented her red saree with vermillion.
Aditi wore a red raw mango saree with a blue border, a sleeveless blouse, choker on neck and had smokey eyes.
Her husband, actor Siddharth, dropped a heart emoticon in the comment box.
Alia’s top-notch debut at Cannes
Much like how she managed a malfunction of her neck piece at the red carpet with smartness, Bollywood’s leading actress Alia Bhatt effortlessly hopped from one attire to the other undoubtedly seizing India’s social media walls for a few days and nights.
After a lot of ambiguity over her Cannes attendance as she skipped the opening ceremony, Alia jetted off to Cannes in the wee hours on May 23 a day ahead of the closing.
Alia said ‘hello’ to Cannes picking a Schiaparelli creation by Daniel Roseberry, from the Maison’s Spring/Summer 2025 line.
With her minimalistic make-up, hairdo, and jewellery, the National Award-winning actress let the floral gown take the center stage as she walked confidently on the Cannes red carpet, which has now become the high street of fashion.
Alia’s white and pastel body-hugging gown, from the line named ‘Icarus’, came with a ruffled train of sorts.
On the closing day, the 32-year-old donned a silver-hued Swarovski crystal ensemble painted in a flesh coloured fabric, leaving social media divided over their understanding of whether the attire is a saree form or gown.
While Alia called it an “interpretation of saree”, the Gucci brand called it a “gown” leaving the internet scratching their heads for a better understanding.
“Cinema has the power to move humans, people, emotions, everyone. I think the power to move and really make an impact comes from the art of expression and cinema is right on top of that list,” the B-Town star with a meaty body of work told Brut on the red carpet.
Photo credit: Film Heritage Foundation, Social Media handles of the actors Alia Bhatt, Ishaan Khatter, Manish Malhotra.
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