Richa Chadha Criticizes Cannes Red Carpet Hype, Emphasizes True Purpose of Film Festival
Actress Urges Celebrities to Focus on Cinema, Not Fashion at Cannes
Richa Chadha, an actress, poked fun at the celebrities who walked the red carpet this year at events supported by makeup and fashion companies. She reminded viewers that the purpose of the film festival was to honor international films, not to show off their wardrobes.
Richa, who received praise for her performance as Lajjo in Sanjay Leela Bhansali's debut online series Heeramandi: The Diamond Bazaar, alluded in an Instagram remark that some celebrities pay big bucks to participate in France's most esteemed film festival.
It's a festival of films. Please refrain from paying someone to visit that location and appear in a red carpet photo. "Observe all the true achievers at the festival, aspire to join them, and visit there with a film one day," she tweeted on Monday, stressing the significance of sincere engagement.
The actress, who is wed to Ali Fazal, also cautioned spectators against making a big deal out of fashion and cosmetics brand representatives, as these companies only support a few of the festival's events. "That's all—fashion and cosmetics just sponsor a few events there. They're adorable. and possibly essential for business. It's one of the greatest film festivals in the world.
Richa listed all the Indian winners at Cannes throughout the years and shared a carousel of images of them, criticizing celebrities for going to film festivals for purposes other than promoting a film. "The flowers that are meant to bloom will bloom, even if a million storms rise," she praised them by quoting poet Sahir Ludhianvi.
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Richa thanked director Payal Kapadia and her group on All We Imagine As Light's Grand Prix victory at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. She also praised actress Anusuya Sengupta, who took home the Best Actress Award in the Un Certain Regard category for her work in Constantin Bojanov's The Shameless.
Richa also tweeted a photo of filmmaker Chidananda S. Naik, who won the La Cinef award for his short film Sunflowers Were the First to Know, alongside Payal and Anasuya. She also released the poster for SANTOSH, an Indian feature film that stars Shahana Goswami and was directed by Sandhya Suri. The picture is scheduled to compete in Cannes' Un Certain Regard section this year.
In her lengthy letter, the actress also highlighted Santosh Sivan, the cinematographer who won the Pierre Angenieux ExcelLens in Cinematography prize at the 77th annual film festival, making him the first Asian to do so. At a ceremony on May 24, actress Preity Zinta gave him the prize.
Richa thought back to her first time attending the Cannes Film Festival as part of the Director's Fortnight event, when she made her debut alongside the Gangs of Wasseypur team. She also uploaded a photo of herself walking the red carpet at the 2015 Un Certain Regard film festival for Masaan, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan.
The actress continued by paying homage to Girls Will Be Girls by Shuchi Talati, which had a screening in the Juniors section of Cannes 2024. She and Ali Fazal are producing the movie for the first time together under their own label, Pushing Buttons Studios.
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