Festival for films, not fashion: Nandita Das shares throwback to Cannes experiences

Nandita Das, renowned actor and filmmaker, has now joined the ranks of those emphasising the true essence of the Cannes Film Festival, asserting that it is about celebrating films – not fashion. Nostalgic, Das shared pictures from the past years when she attended the prestigious festival with her industry peers.

The pictures saw Das alongside a myriad of celebrities including Divya Dutta, Rasika Dugal, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Javier Bardem, and Salma Hayek, all taken during their memorable Cannes experiences. “Sadly missing Cannes this year. Sometimes people seem to forget that it is a festival of films and not of clothes!” she wrote.

Acknowledging that she couldn't display the incredible films she watched, the stimulating conversations she had, or transport her followers back in time to the premiere of Manto at Cannes, Nandita chose to exclusively showcase photos of herself wearing saris – her “go-to garment.”

She further defended her sartorial choices throughout the years given the recent chatter about Cannes and Indian fashion. “The pictures are only the ones in Saris as there is a fair amount of chatter about the ‘celebrities who wore saris in Cannes.’ Well, it is surely my go-to garment. Simple, elegant and Indian. Least fussy - easy to get in and get out of it!” she wrote.

"While each of these images holds an interesting story behind it, they are too lengthy to share here," Das revealed, generously inviting her audience to create their own narratives based on the photos. To engage her followers further, she playfully challenged them to guess the respective years of the images, ranging from 2005 to 2013 and 2016 to 2018, encapsulating her cherished moments at Cannes.

Das’ post emerged just hours after filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri playfully mocked the focus on fashion at the Cannes Film Festival. In a tweet on Saturday, he slyly reminded everyone, "Do you know that Cannes Film Festival is about films? I thought I should remind you just in case you were thinking it’s a fashion show."

The sentiment also resonated with fellow actor Meera Chopra. Recalling her experience at Cannes last year, she expressed her disappointment, remarking, "It's very sad. Bollywood only talks about what you are wearing and where you are being covered in media, to the extent that it becomes stressful."

Chopra contrasted the film industry's obsession with fashion and publicity with the more composed approach adopted by other countries, emphasising the lack of frenzy surrounding fashion and public relations.

The Cannes Film Festival, known for its glitz and glamour, witnessed the presence of numerous prominent celebrities this year. From Aishwarya Rai and Sara Ali Khan to Mrunal Thakur, Manushi Chhillar, Esha Gupta, and Diana Penty, these actors made headlines with their sartorial choices. Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Urvashi Rautela, Sapna Choudhary, Shark Tank's Aman Gupta, and Shannon, the daughter of singer Kumar Sanu, were also spotted gracing the festival with their presence.