The red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival is all about glamour and fashion. But behind it lie multiple fitting sessions and negligible sleep, quipped Aditi Rao Hydari, when we spoke to her only days before she headed to the French Riviera. On Thursday, the actor walked the red carpet in a strapless monochrome gown, completing it with soft lip colour and an updo.

The idea was to showcase her inherent style. “I don’t try to prove anything to anyone. When I was starting out, people had a lot of advice to give me. For the promotions of my early films, I’d wear jeans and a shirt. People started saying, ‘Get a hairstylist, be glamorous, and wear heels.’ [I] felt the need to conform. That change [in mindset] happened in 2016 when I worked with Mani [Ratnam] sir. Subsequently, I’ve never let fashion play heavy on me,” said Hydari, who represented L’Oreal Paris at the gala.

Her non-conformist streak has held her in good stead. Earlier this month, her Gajagamini walk from Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar caught the fancy of the internet.

“Sanjay sir had asked me to put on some weight. Then I got COVID-19 and became so skinny that everyone overfed me. I put on a few kilos when I went to shoot the song. I suggested losing weight, but Sanjay sir said, ‘You’re beautiful. You’re not a 2020 heroine, but a 1940’s woman.’ Today when I see how that has made people feel, it feels wonderful. People have written in to say that they feel seen. We’re stuck in a manufactured idea of beauty, and it took Sanjay sir to show that other body types are as beautiful. In our tryst to be healthy, we have normalized a particular body type. But all body types are beautiful.”

Even though the Cannes Film Festival is among the most prestigious film galas, for some, fashion takes precedence over movies. Hydari said, “It depends on the intention of the person. There are countless cinephiles there, who watch films all day long. The media also needs to report more diversely. This year, we have a film in the competition section [All We Imagine As Light]. Payal’s [Kapadia, director] mother is my mom’s friend. I want to catch her film!”