India’s selection as the official country of honour at the Cannes Film Festival has brought pride to the Indian audience and filmmakers alike. Director Madhur Bhandarkar, who has been to Cannes twice before, was elated at the announcement.
In an interview with Hindustan Times, “I remember in 2019, I had gone for the India pavilion. It was a great experience to interact with so many filmmakers. There were so many producers, technicians, who are very much aware of the kind of films we make in our Indian film industry,” he reminisces.
The world knows of the immense scale of the Indian film industry. However, an important question to note is if Indian Cinema was always given a place of importance or is it only recently that the world is recognizing the potential it holds.
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To this, the National-Award winning director says, “Honestly, it has been growing slowly and steadily. We are definitely leaving a mark. I had gone there in 2011 to launch my film Heroine. And then eight years later. We had phenomenal reach in that span. I will not use the term Bollywood, but Indian cinema. People around the world have interacted with my films Corporate, Fashion and Traffic Signal. It’s been almost 10 years since I have been taking my films globally.”
He also credits the recent recognition of Indian Cinema to the rise of OTT platforms in the country helping it reach a wider, global audience. He says, “The world has become very narrow. We have social media as well, people are aware and want to see films on the various platforms available. There was a time when even we would see only English films, but since the OTT phenomena we also watch French, Spanish cinema.”
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He also praised actress Deepika Padukone for being invited as a jury member to Cannes Film Festival this year. “It’s so great. She’s a big brand, who better than her for taking India to Cannes,” he said.
