Cannes Reduced To a Fashion Spectacle

Filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, a frequent visitor to Cannes, say, “It used to be about films. We would rush from theatre to theatre to catch the latest Woody Allen or Quentin Tarantino film. The Red Carpet was always the least important part of the Cannes. Now I doubt those from the Indian film fraternity who attend the Cannes even watch a single film.”

Presence over performance

Actor, producer, film historian and a frequent delegate to the Cannes Film Festival, Vani Tripathi Tikoo, feels the event has lost its original sheen. “What was once considered a sacred space for cinema has increasingly become, for Bollywood. The conversation has shifted from films to fashion feeds.”

Vani, adds, “While filmmakers from across the world arrive at Cannes to discuss craft, much of the Indian entertainment coverage remains preoccupied with who wore what, who walked which carpet and which luxury brand sponsored the appearance. There is nothing inherently wrong with glamour—Cannes has always had it. But glamour once accompanied cinema; today, it frequently replaces it in Bollywood imagination.”

Expressing the view that for many Indian celebrities, Cannes has shifted from being a site of artistic validation to a global branding runway where image management, influencer culture and luxury collaborations often overshadow actual cinematic participation, she said what was most troubling was the “disproportionate erasure of the films.”

Vani noted that director panels, independent Indian screenings, co-production discussions and meaningful cinematic exchanges rarely receive the same visibility. “The danger of reducing Cannes to a fashion spectacle is that it weakens India’s cinematic seriousness on the global stage,” she warned, adding, “a nation with one of the world’s richest storytelling traditions should not arrive at Cannes merely as a market for luxury aesthetics. At its best, Cannes represents cinema as art, dissent, experimentation and cultural dialogue. The question India must ask itself is whether it wants to participate in that conversation or simply pose beside it.”

Hunger for quality films

Shabana Azmi emphasises, “I recall being at the Cannes in May 1976 with Nishant, my second film with Benegal. Smita Patil, who was also part of the cast, accompanied Shyam and me. Back then, we were not glamour-struck by anything at Cannes. All we experienced was pure terror at not having any publicity material or any money, while others were throwing lavish yacht parties with caviar and champagne.”

Recalling her sentiments then, the actress, said, “We were allowed the princely sum of 8 US dollars in foreign exchange so when I say we had no money, I mean NO money. Since breakfast was included in the room tariff, we used to fill our stomachs with the breakfast spread and survive on coffee and French fries during the day. Invariably, we had dinner at the many parties and our intention was less to network and more to fill our stomachs.”

But Shabana says a hunger far beyond the belly overtook all other commitments at Cannes. “We were hungry to watch films. Shyam Benegal drew up a list of the films that we could watch and we rushed from one screening to the next. The excitement of watching wonderful films from the world over still gives me goosebumps.”

Appearance is all

Nawazuddin Siddiqui has gone to Cannes Liar’s Dice, Raman Raghav and Manto. “Manto was the 9th film of mine that I was in Cannes with. I was very casual about my clothes. When I attended Cannes the first time, I wore a suit stitched by a local tailor. I have no fashion sense at all. Mujhe toh yeh nahin pataa ttha ke ek din main aise kapde pehnunga (I didn’t know that one day I’d wear such clothes.”) Looks like, the gown preoccupation has only grown.