In his recent tweet, filmmaker Vivek Agnihotri had reminded everyone that the recently concluded Cannes Film Festival is meant for “showcasing films and it’s not a fashion show”. Elaborating on his viewpoint, he tells us, “Films have been replaced by fashion. And that too, with the kind of fashion which is to create sensation, instead of being real. Now, looking weird and to shock the audience is in fashion.”
Agnihotri looks back at the time when he had gone to the Festival de Cannes for his film The Tashkent Files, and instantly realised that ‘it has become more of a fashion show’. He recalls, “I witnessed that fashion models (actors and influencers) wearing weird costumes was the main attraction at the red carpet. And the greatest of the actors and directors walked by and nobody cared about them. In fact, they were being pushed around.”
When asked why Bollywood actors are quiet on this whole scenario of fashion taking over films at Cannes, Agnihotri retorts, “They are busy doing brand promotions and that’s why they have to keep quiet. It’s like if you dance at somebody’s wedding and take money for it, you can’t criticise the food at the wedding. They have no spine left. Also, Bollywood actors have become social media influencers, so they are not acting anymore. For them, life is cool. ”
Another thing that the filmmaker found “extremely strange and weird” about the 76th edition of Cannes Film Festival was the presence of several social media influencers on the red carpet. “And they even got a lot of limelight. I don’t understand what do these influencers have got to do with feature films? It was very unfair for audiences in general because this is a dumbing down process,” he says, adding, “You are corrupting (the festival). Nobody cares about the central theme of the festival. Nobody knows which film was being screened or which won in what category. I am not commenting on anyone’s competence or capability, but most actors who attended Cannes from India had none of their films being there, and some didn’t even have a release in many years.”
{{/usCountry}}Another thing that the filmmaker found “extremely strange and weird” about the 76th edition of Cannes Film Festival was the presence of several social media influencers on the red carpet. “And they even got a lot of limelight. I don’t understand what do these influencers have got to do with feature films? It was very unfair for audiences in general because this is a dumbing down process,” he says, adding, “You are corrupting (the festival). Nobody cares about the central theme of the festival. Nobody knows which film was being screened or which won in what category. I am not commenting on anyone’s competence or capability, but most actors who attended Cannes from India had none of their films being there, and some didn’t even have a release in many years.”
{{/usCountry}}Hoping for better sense to prevail the next year, the filmmaker emphasises that Cannes is supposed to be a festival of important and unconventional films. “Especially films which make very bold statements and are even controversial. I am talking about films that generally aren’t mainstream and won’t get a platform to be showcased otherwise,” he concludes.
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