Madhur Bhandarkar has been to the Cannes Film Festival twice before (in 2011 and 2019) and is delighted that India is the country of honour this year. Revisiting his time at the French Riviera, the director shares, “I remember, in 2019, I was part of our country’s delegation at the India Pavilion. It was great to interact with so many filmmakers, producers and technicians, who were so aware of the kind of films our industry makes.”

But has Indian cinema always received this kind of recognition, or is the world only now waking up to its potential? The National Award-winning director says, “It has been growing slowly and steadily. We are definitely making a mark. I went there in 2011 to launch my film Heroine (2012). And then I visited eight years later. We had [attained] a phenomenal reach in that span. People around the world have interacted with my films. I will not use the term Bollywood, but Indian cinema.”

Bhandarkar attributes the increased reach of Indian content to the rise of OTT platforms: “The world has become narrow. We have social media as well. There was a time when we would get to watch English films, but since the OTT phenomenon, we get to watch cinema from around the world, like French or Spanish.”

Speaking of the ongoing Cannes festival, he is all praises for actor Deepika Padukone, who has been invited as a jury member this year. “It’s so great. She’s a big brand, who better than her to (represent) India at Cannes?” Bhandarkar ends.