Indian representation at the Cannes Film Festival has grown exponentially over the years. This year, Indian films like Kennedy, Agra, Nehemich and Ishanou will be screened at the film gala. A host of Indian actors, filmmakers and social media influencers have already walked the red carpet and made heads turn. But way before Indian inclusivity at the French Riviera became a norm, filmmaker Vikramaditya Motwane’s coming-of-age drama Udaan starring Rajat Barmecha, a newbie back then, and Ronit Bose Roy made headlines. In 2010, it was the first Indian film to be represented at the Cannes Film Festival in seven years. It premiered in the Un Certain Regard section of film festival and received a unanimous response and even earned a standing ovation from a theatre thundering with cinema lovers.
With the 76th edition of the prestigious film festival currently underway, News18 exclusively catches up with Rajat, who recalls being at the global stage more than a decade earlier, living a truly significant moment for new-age Indian cinema. “I had a great time. It was actually a very different time back then. It happened almost thirteen years back. The Cannes Film Festival, at that point, for a country like ours was very different and new,” he says.
For Rajat, the biggest difference between the present and the previous decade lies in how prepared and uninhibited the new generation of actors are as they represent their country on a global platform like the Cannes Film Festival. Talking about it, he shares, “As an actor, everyone is very prepared to go there now. At that time, we were the first ones to go there after many years. The expectations and feelings of excitement were very different.”
Reminiscing how filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, Vikramditya and he discussed things down to the detail before their big entrance at the gala, Rajat says, “We were very raw. Abhi toh bahot planning hoti hai. There’s an entire team that works towards you going there. At that point, it used to be very simple. Anurag, Vikram and I discussed everything among ourselves because we were very new. A lot of things have changed today but the fun and the respect is still the same.”
Even after all these years, the importance and distinctiveness of the Cannes Film Festival has remained sacrosanct. Sharing his thoughts on the same, the Girl In The City and Hey Prabhu actor remarks, “I keep telling everyone that going to Cannes with your film makes for a very different experience. Walking the red carpet amid the loudspeakers where they are playing songs from your film is such a high. It’s such a beautiful feeling. I felt so blessed that I got to go to Cannes for Udaan.”
But does he feel that it has become easier to take Indian films to the Cannes Film Festival today? “I wouldn’t say it’s easier but it’s more common. The festival along with the world looks at India as a very big market now. They want a lot of films from our country to be screened and represented there,” states Rajat.
He further believes that increased competition with global content has nudged filmmakers in India to up their game. And film festivals, needless to say, are always on the look-out for content riding high on quality. “Over the years, amid the commercial ones, we’ve started making content-driven, good films that are at par with global standards. That’s one of the reasons why we end up going there more often. Along with that, we now have that exposure which has made it easier to bridge the gap,” explains Rajat, whose latest film, Kacchey Limbu, made it to the Toronto International Film Festival in 2022.
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