The 75th Cannes International Film Festival that has selected India as the official country of honor at Cannes Film Market (Marché du Film) in this edition of the festival will see Bollywood superstars Akshay Kumar, Shekhar Kapur, music maestro A R Rahman among others walking the red carpet on the opening day, May 17 as a part of the Indian contingent. Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur will lead the delegation from India to Cannes.

As the country celebrates its 75th year of Independence, coinciding with Cannes Film Festival’s 75th anniversary, the intent is to showcase the culture, legacy, heritage, and developments of India through cinema. India and France are also celebrating 75 years of diplomatic relations this year.

Celebrities as the part of India delegation

“The delegation has been hand-picked from across the length and breadth of the country to represent different strengths and aspects of the country,” a statement by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said. Other prominent names include Actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Vani Tripathi, R. Madhavan,  Chairman of CBFC, Prasson Joshi, Folk singer Maame Khan, two-times Grammy winner Ricky Kej, filmmaker Shekhar Kapur. R. Madhavan’s directorial debut Rocketry: The Nambi Effect is also set to have its market screening on May 19.

Bollywood star Deepika Padukone is part of the eight-member competition jury of the Cannes Film Festival along with prestigious names Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi and actor-filmmaker Rebecca Hall.

India’s initiatives for cinema before Cannes

Several new and exciting initiatives are lined-up this year for Cannes, the ministry mentioned. Five new Start-Ups would be given an opportunity to pitch to the Audio-Visual Industry at the film festival, the statement added.

A brand new restoration of Indian cinema legend Satyajit Ray’s rare movie “Pratidwandi” under the National Film Heritage Mission, a project undertaken by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting will also be presented in an exclusive screening at the movie gala.

Indian films and documentaries to be screened at 75th Cannes

Delhi-based filmmaker Shaunak Sen’s documentary All That Breathes will premiere in the Special Screening segment at the gala. This is India’s sole cinematic representation at the main festival.

India will also showcase five movies at the Goes to Cannes Section. The movies include Ek Jagah Apni (Hindi) by Ektara Collective, Baghjan (Assamese, Moran) by Jaicheng Zxai Dohutia, Bailadila (Hindi, Chhattisgarhi) by Shailendra Sahu,  Follower (Marathi, Kannada, Hindi) by Harshad Nalawade and Shivamma (Kannada) by Jai Shankar.