Cannes Calling
by: Afsana Ahmed
- timesofindia.com
This time around, the 59th Cannes Film Festival will get a broader view of Indian cinema. A bevy of Bollywood stars will join the retinue of glamourous international movie stars attending the festival, starting May 17.
Kareena Kapoor, Preity Zinta, Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgan, Vishal Bharadwaj and Karan Johar amongst others from the film fraternity of India are going to make their presence felt at the fest.
Actor Aishwarya Rai will once again be attending the inaugural function on the opening day. She’ll be there for a couple of days. Her film Provoked, directed by Jagmohan Mundra will be premiered at the festival. The film is based on a real life story in which Aishwarya plays the role of a battered housewife, Kiranjit Ahluwalia. She is currently shooting for director Mani Ratnam’s Guru, with Abhishek Bachchan till May 15, after which she leaves for Cannes on May 16.
Having just returned from Melbourne, Australia after performing at the Commonwealth Games, Aishwarya is also winding up work on J P Dutta’s Umrao Jaan. “It’s an honour to be a part of Cannes film festival once again. I am looking forward to it,” says Aishwarya.
Kareena Kapoor will be going to Cannes with Vishal Bharadwaj’s Omkara (a Hindi adaptation of Othello) team which includes Saif Ali Khan, Ajay Devgan and producer Kumar Mangat. “Omkara is not completed as yet. The producers have bought a stall there and they’ll screen eight minutes of the film that has been shot so far. It’s kind of making the West aware that we are making a rocker adaptation of Othello. And we are doing it in our way,” says Kareena.
Filmmaker Karan Johar, too has a stall for his latest film Kabhi Alvida Na Kehna. Karan is also going to be talking on piracy issues. “I am still working out the dates and trying to match schedules,” says Johar about his Cannes trip.
Zinta and Johar are planning to stay there for a good four to five days to enjoy the various international movies screened.
With such strong Bollywood participation, there’s no reason why the West will not acknowledge and finally accept Bollywood in the mainstream market.
Related Links:
04/12/06 Tormented, yet standing tall - telegraphindia.com
04/11/06 'Provoked' to be premiered at Cannes - deccanherald.com
02/11/06 Provoked: Ash in action - indiatimes.com
02/04/06 'Provoked' to premiere at Cannes 2006 - mumbaimirror.com
Provoked: News Updates
