Showing posts with label Emmanuel Macron. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Emmanuel Macron. Show all posts
Ashim Samanta to reimagine An Evening In Paris following Indo-French cinema tie-up
9:04 AM
Chaitanya Padukone (MID-DAY; February 20, 2026)
Was it Shammi Kapoor’s charm, filmmaker Shakti Samanta’s storytelling, or Shankar-Jaikishan’s music? Maybe it was all of these that made ‘An Evening In Paris’ (1967) a jubilee hit on its release. And it looks like the Kapoor and Sharmila Tagore-led musical, which has remained much loved over the decades, might have a sequel of sorts.
With French President Emmanuel Macron’s India visit putting the spotlight on Indo-French collaborations in cinema, Samanta’s son and filmmaker Ashim Samanta has revealed to mid-day that French national Georges-Emmanuel Morali has proposed “relaunching” the movie in France.
“If all goes well, and with the backing of proactive financial, creative, and governmental support, there is a possibility of a modern spiritual sequel, ‘An Evening In Paris’. Our home production has influenced French national Georges-Emmanuel Morali to consider relaunching this romantic film in France,” said Ashim.
The film has been envisioned as a love story between a French boy and an Indian girl. “The girl visits Paris after watching ‘An Evening In Paris’, and desires to see every heritage spot shown in the film. The French boy takes her to all those locations, and in the process, both fall in love. The clips of the scenes and songs from ‘An Evening In Paris’ would be seen in this movie,” explained Ashim.
Emmanuel Macron was actively thinking of solutions to the problems being raised-Richa Chadha
8:34 AM
Vishakha Pandit (HINDUSTAN TIMES; February 19, 2026)
French President Emmanuel Macron on his three-day India tour ahead of inaugurating the India-France Year of Innovation 2026, met several Bollywood biggies on Tuesday, including actors Richa Chadha, Shabana Azmi, Anil Kapoor, and Manoj Bajpayee for a conversation on cinema and cultural collaborations. For Richa, it was “as thrilling as it gets”.
The 39-year-old tells us that the exchange focused on paving the way for many more successful Indo-French productions, citing her film Masaan (2015) as an example. “I hope these synergies between the two democracies continue. Strengthening these collaborations can open doors for richer storytelling and a wider global reach for independent cinema,” she shares.
She also included Girls Will Be Girls (2024) and All We Imagine As Light (2024) as examples of what sustained partnerships can achieve: “France and India have a very good relationship in terms of producing films together. The discussion was about how to strengthen those ties.”
Gushing about “the youngest President” Richa appreciated how Macron was more focused on solving issues than just listening to problems. “He wasn’t passively listening. He was actively thinking of solutions to the problems being raised,” she says.
Speaking about the challenges faced by Kanu Behl’s Indo-French co-production Agra, she noted that despite premiering at Cannes, it secured only a limited release in India. “Globally, traditional theatre-going has dropped, but cinema attendance has risen in interesting ways. There needs to be an adaptive distribution model.”
Emmanuel Macron and I talked about our indie cinema crisis-Manoj Bajpayee
8:32 AM
Manoj Bajpayee, who met French President Emmanuel Macron, says the leader welcomed ideas on how a collaboration between the countries would aid Indian films
Upala KBR (MID-DAY; February 19, 2026)
Currently on a three-day visit to India, French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron spent the afternoon of February 17 with artistes of the Hindi film industry. The luncheon was attended by actors Manoj Bajpayee, Anil Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Richa Chadha, filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, and Neeraj Ghaywan, among others. Bajpayee, who was invited by the Consulate General of France in Mumbai to be part of the interaction, has walked away touched by the French President’s keen interest in the arts.
Talking to mid-day, he shared, “The French President believes in the soft power of art. He wanted to meet the representatives of this film industry, mainly those who belong to the middle-of-the-road and independent cinema. President Macron is most graceful, and informal in his conversation. He gave complete attention to everyone who had a suggestion about the exchanges that can take place [between France and India].”
France, over the decades, has had a rich movie culture where independent cinema thrives. In contrast, indie films in India struggle to co-exist alongside the big-budget mainstream entertainers. That, Bajpayee revealed, was a key point of discussion as they spoke about cinema bridging the two countries.
“We talked about the crisis that independent cinema is facing in our country, and how the collaboration can help its growth. France is known for pursuing storytelling in its purest form. When you have a country like this, you know every suggestion is being paid heed to.”
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