Interview: Sobhita Dhulipala calls Cannes 2024 ‘incredible year for Indian films’

In an exclusive interview, actor Sobhita Dhulipala opens up about returning to the Cannes film festival after eight years since her first appearance.

It’s after eight years that actor Sobhita Dhulipala returned to the red carpet of the prestigious Cannes film festival, with the feeling of nostalgia and pride taking over her head and heart. The actor says the Cannes red carpet is known for celebrating the world of cinema while creating fashion trends, and she is happy to see Indian films making great noise at the gala. ()

Sobhita Dhulipala attended the Cannes film festival as representative of an ice cream band, Magnum India.

Earlier, Sobhita attended the film festival in 2016 for her film, Raman Raghav 2.0. The film premiered at the festival in the Directors' Fortnight section. This year, the actor did her bit to represent India through her association with an ice cream band, Magnum India. She walked the brown carpet at the fest.

On her return to the Cannes

“Our messages (the message we want to convey to the international audience) are in our stories and our films, I feel privileged to have come to the Cannes film festival with my debut film Raman Raghav 2.0 which was part of the incredible directors fortnight segment in 2016 and now to return with a brand I’ve personally loved, it’s a wonderful feeling,” Sobhita tells us.

She adds, “Representing India with a brand that I’ve loved as a consumer for a long time, is a happy moment. To be part of their journey across the globe, spreading cheer and celebrating their legacy of pleasure is such fun”.

For her first outing at the Cannes this year, she ditched the trend of hitting the red carpet in a gown, and went for a contemporary style statement in a jumpsuit. For her first look at the Magnum "Welcome To The Pleasure Express" event at Cannes 2024, Sobhita picked an outfit from the shelves of popular Indian designer Namrata Joshipura.

During one appearance, Sobhita wore a gold-gilded bodycon. Her ensemble was from the Indian clothing label Itrh.

Talking about her association, she further shares, “I was thrilled to be onboarded by Magnum for their Cannes adventure. It’s a brand I have worked with recently in Mumbai at the Lakme Fashion Week and it became clear to everyone that it was a collaboration with a long road ahead”.

On Indian representation at the gala this year

This year, Sobhita joined stars including Aishwarya Rai, Kiara Advani, Aditi Rao Hydari, and Jacqueline Fernandez to add a ‘desi’ splash at the international film festival.

When it comes to representation, Indian cinema is also getting noticed at the festival, with courtesy projects such as Santosh by Sandhya Suri, Chidananda S Naik’s Sunflowers Were The First Ones To Know, restored version of Manthan, Radhika Apte’s Sister Midnight and Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light.

Talking about Indian cinema at the Cannes film fest, Sobhita proudly exclaims, “It’s an incredible year for Indian films at Cannes, a whopping 7 films in one single year. It is inspiring and exciting, I’m looking forward to our stories being sung to this audience and hope they receive the love they deserve”.

Along with films, the gala is also popular for its glamorous red carpet. And Sobhita feels they create a perfect balance between fashion and cinema.

“Popular and celebrated events have been portals for new pop culture moments to be created, the iconic Cannes red carpet is glorious for many reasons and seasons - from artists to cinema celebrations to fashion trends to iconic imagery. It’s a dynamic environment with much creative charge,” says the actor, who recently received rave reviews for her international project Monkey Man, which also starred Dev Patel.

Her plans to work in Hollywood

She got a positive response for Monkey Man, which she followed with her appearance at an international film festival. Is she looking at doing more international projects?

“I would love to be part of exciting stories, told with passion. Language, medium, no bar. As much as I love to consume films from every part of the world, even greater is my desire to contribute and create stories that can touch a variety of people, it’s something all artists enjoy,” says the Made in Heaven actor, adding that she is excited to start work on two projects.

“There are two projects I’m excited to begin work on, announcements will be out soon. They are very different from all the work I’ve put out so far,” she ends.