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INDIAN FLAVOURS AT CANNES ’22
This year, six films from India, narrating diverse stories infused with hues of the country’s culture, will come alive on the screen at the upcoming Cannes Film Festival. The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting has shortlisted the films to be screened at the 10-day fest, which starts on May 17. This includes R Madhavan’s Rocketry: The Nambi Effect (Hindi, English, Tamil), Godavari (Marathi), Alpha Beta Gamma (Hindi), Boomba Ride (Mishing), Dhuin (Hindi, Marathi) and Tree Full of Parrots (Malayalam).
“If your film goes to Cannes, you’re already nervous as an actor. And now as a director, and that, too, my debut film, I have knots in my stomach,” says Madhavan. An ecstatic Nikhil Mahajan, director of Godavari, shares, “It is a feeling of tremendous joy for the film to be part of the country’s official delegation... It always feels proud to represent India on a global platform.” His film tells the story of a family living on the banks of river Godavari, coping with death.
From an inspirational reallife story to satire on India’s rural education system, regional cinema will take centrestage at the fest, where India is the country of honour.
Rocketry: The Nambi Effect is a retelling of aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan’s life story as it unravels in an interview by actor Shah Rukh
Khan. Jayaraj’s Tree Full of Parrots is a take on compassion through the story of a young boy. Achal Mishra’s Dhuin shows the tussle between dreams and responsibilities with the story of an aspiring actor, while Shankar Srikumar’s Alpha Beta Gamma is about a marriage that’s falling apart.
Boomba Ride’s director Biswajeet Bora calls this a new beginning for regional cinema. “As an Assamese filmmaker, it is a big achievement. We face a lot of struggle while making a film, and now getting this huge platform to showcase our film is a great moment for us,” says Bora, whose film shows how education can transform lives in rural areas. “This will help us promote our film because we also struggle to showcase our films, especially on OTT platforms. Now, after getting this exposure, we will get a bigger market,” adds Bora, who will leave for Cannes on May 20 for a screening on May 22.
Actor Sonalee Kulkarni walked down the aisle with husband, Dubai-based finance professional Kunal Benodekar in London, UK, recently. The couple, which had a court marriage last year, tied the knot again on May 7, their first wedding anniversary.
While the couple had to rush their registered wedding in Dubai with their families and friends on a video call, this one was in the presence of their entire family. The Pandu (2021) actor revealed the same on Instagram with a post which read, “Finally we did”.
Although the couple didn’t share any photos from the ceremony, their wedding photographer posted a picture which shows Kulkarni in a white wedding gown with a mesh veil on her head while her husband looked dapper in a suit.
In a lengthy note, Kulkarni wrote, “Due to #pandemic, our wedding ceremony had to be postponed twice and for the third time it got cancelled. I was stuck in Dubai and that is why we decided to get married in court. Our parents, and family could not travel. They witnessed the event by zoom call. We got married on 7.05.2021 last year, hoping that when the situation improves, we will all come together and celebrate. This year, on our first wedding anniversary, we got married in front of our families in a very solemn manner, in a very Marathi dreamy traditional wedding. P.S. What happened, how it happened, where it happened, everything - will share everything “soon”!”