Anupria Goenka made her Cannes Film Festival debut with a look centred on the theme ‘My Body, My Choice’. The actress attended the festival for her film Bombay Stories, screened at the Marche du Film section. Inspired by Saadat Hasan Manto’s short story Hatak, the film sees her play a sex worker — a subject that shaped the concept behind her red-carpet appearance.

Anupria wore an Indo-Western ensemble featuring ajrakh embroidery and a sari-inspired silhouette. One side of the outfit reflected the image of a conventionally acceptable woman, while the other created a bare-chest illusion to highlight how perceptions change based on appearance.

“Since Cannes is a huge global platform, I wanted my appearance to stand for something meaningful. The idea was to express a belief I feel strongly about — that a woman should have complete agency over her own body and choices,” she added. The actress said the white palette represented the idea of purity imposed on women, while red accents symbolized judgement and stigma. Jewellery made from vintage rupee coins added another layer to the concept.

“We used old rupee coins in the jewellery to reflect how women are often assigned value or judged based on societal expectations,” she shared. Anupria added that working on Bombay Stories gave her insight into the lives of sex workers, making the message behind the look more personal.

The actress was recently seen in the horror-comedy Indian Institute of Zombies, where she plays Professor Briganza, a ghostbuster.