Singer Papon was at the 75th Cannes Film Festival, representing northeast India, and stressed about the floods back home in Assam at the same time. Connecting with us from France, he shares that the destruction caused is “very disturbing”.

“We’ve been experiencing floods since childhood. This happens every year. So every year, we dread the fact that there will be floods and we prepare to overcome them,” says the 46-year-old, adding that his family is stuck, too. “While I’m in France, my family is in Assam, dealing with the water that has flooded our house,” he tells us.

While the Yeh Hausle (83; 2021) singer grapples with the personal crisis, representing the country on a global level is something he feels deeply about. Papon says, “This year, India being the Country of Honour at the Cannes is an opportunity through which the Indian government is aggressively making efforts to get a foothold, and understand its space, in world cinema. I was invited to represent Assam, be the bridge to exchange ideas, and more importantly, to try and bring film tourism to Assam. It was an honour to be asked to represent the state and the country at Cannes.”

It wasn’t only music though, that he got to talk about at the event, as he shares that he is producing two films over the past four years. “Both are in progress, but the teasers of my films were presented at the Indian Pavilion. I got a lot of encouragement from the people who saw the footage. I am weaving the films with music and representing the heritage, culture, fabrics and beliefs of the land. One movie is called The Mystical Brahmaputra - A Musical Story and the other is called Land of Sacred Beats,” he shares.