Cannes Film Fest 2009 – Day 3

May 14th, The Indian Pavilion opened today, officially. Unofficially it was open since the day I reached here. But we have a rivaaz (custom) of cutting the ribbon. So we were all cramped up in the tent and people just kept flowing in. The name of the stars that walked the blue carpet (Well that’s the color of the carpet in the pavilion) were Subash Ghai, Prasoon Joshi, Manisha Koirala, Deepti Naval and later in the day Sharmila Tagore. Oh yes, there was one guy who made the crowd go crazy screaming outside the pavillion. The screams made everyone silent and looked at the door to see who was entering. As the screams got louder and louder, we could make out, it was Abhishek Bachhan. As he entered, everyone made a headway rush to the door. He entered and went back outside to cut the ribbon. the inaugration was done and all of them headed to click a pic with him while we insignificant souls headed to the bar and gulped some drinks cursing him for his popularity (well, we losers suck, don’t we?)

The party continued for an hour. Saw some faces in the industry whom I knew earlier. Big-time producers and small-time directors. Wannabe actors and wannabe producers too. Many of them looking for a firang bakra (foreigner catch) to finance their film. Here is a conversation between A (CEO of a distribution company), B (a wannabe director who has done a film that is premiering on the 16th in Cannes) and Me.

A: The recovery model has fallen flat. Nobody is making money except the actors
B: Sir, I am telling you, my film is not about actors. It is about performance, it is about content. Everyone is neglecting the poor people. The roots of my story will tug at the poor peoples heart.
Me: True
B: sir, why do you think Slumdog Millionaire became such a hit?
A: People liked the film?
B: No. I will tell you why it became a hit. It became a hit, because it had poor people in it. They saw a man who was amongst them become a winner in life. Nobody had shown a hero in India coming from the slums in a long time!
Me: But I thought the film did not do so well in India!
B: (looking at me, a bit disappointed) It did well. Trust me, it was better than the other films that released during that time.
A starts playing with his Blackberry.
B: Sir, if you see the film, it has everything in it like a typical bollywood film. It has got Drama, Romance, Love, Sex, Action. The west wants to see this too…
A: Excuse me, i have to attend this call…
Me: All the best, B! I am sure you would have a great festival.
B: Here is an invitation to my film. Come see it. Its premiering on the 16th here, in Cannes.
Me: Wow! you are screening your film? In which theatre? Lumiere or Debussy?
B: (pointing to an LCD screen that is showing promos) Here on this LCD screen!!!

Later, my boss and I left for an Indian Restaurant, Maharaja. I can tell you guys, I love to experiment with food when I am outside the country, but there is nothing like Indian food.

We headed back to the Pavilion. The bar was still on, and we saw people from other pavilion spilling over to our area because of the free booze (thanks to UB Group). Met a couple of interesting film makers with their heads on their shoulders. Exchanged numbers, promised to be in touch. Later in the evening as things started wining up, we insignificant souls chatted together about the behavior of people in the presence of the stars, mostly Government bureaucrats.

One of the guys from the Government was mailing photographs to their counterparts in India. An overheard conversation was

X: I think, this year Cannes is great
Y: Yes, Last tme very few stars came, This year so many came into the pavilion
X: Boss is really happy. He got clicked with everyone

I thought Cannes was a market where business happens. Apparently its turned out to be a place where people attend parties and get photographs clicked with stars. An expensive affair.

But now that I am here, I guess let the party continue. Enjoy every bit of it, and make friends with people across the globe. Cannes is indeed a global village. I hope to catch up some movies tomorrow, atleast one. Apparently, the timings are so odd, if you want to see a good movie, you might miss out on a fantastic party. Its a choice to be made, and I am confused what to do!

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Prakash Nambiar, from the financial capital of India – Mumbai, is, currently, at the Cannes Film Festival with his film production company, reporting his experiences of being in a foreign country and all about the Cannes Film Festival. You can contact him at praxie@gmail.com