Sonil Dedhia (MID-DAY; May 20, 2017)

Making her debut on the French Riviera, Deepika Padukone has wowed the fashion police with her various red carpet appearances.

Sharing her experience with mid-day via FaceTime, the actress says, with great joy and positivity around, it’s ‘literally like sunshine’. The L’Oreal brand ambassador is soaking in a variety of experiences at the festival, right from fashionable outings to catching up films.

Comparisons with Sonam Kapoor and Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who are regular at the fest, have already started but the actress feels it’s uncalled for. “I feel it shouldn’t happen. This is an incredible platform to showcase our talent and represent a brand or a movie. We all are such strong individuals and I don’t see any overlap [tension],” she says.

Deepika mingled with Hollywood celebrities Julianne Moore and Susan Sarandon on day 1, and calls that a moment she will always cherish. “At 7 am, we were getting our hair and make-up done. What I enjoyed the most was that we all are celebs, but in that room, we were three women giggling, chatting and being real.”

Talking about the perception of Indian cinema at Cannes, the actress says, “Susan was talking about her son picked up a dance element from Indian films and incorporated in his film. I know all our movies are not just about song and dance. Though people are aware of the kind of films we make, there’s a lot to do in terms of educating them,” she adds.