Obsession with Cannes is only to walk the red carpet, says Anurag Kashyap on Indian celebs attending the festival

On the sidelines of Cannes, Anurag Kashyap spoke about how Indian celebrities attend the film festival in France but don't watch the films.

Every year, the Cannes Film Festival in France has become a spectacle not just for the Indian films presented there, but also for the fashion on the red carpet. On the sidelines of it, filmmaker Anurag Kashyap rues that Indian celebrities and filmmakers have forgotten the point of the festival.

Anurag Kashyap says Indian celebs attending the festival don't watch films at the marketplace.

Anurag Kashyap on Cannes red carpet

Talking to Sucharita Tyagi, Anurag said, “In India, the problem and obsession with Cannes is only to walk the red carpet. They don't understand that there is a festival, and the purpose of it is beyond the red carpet.” When asked about how nobody knows that Anurag was there on the opening day, he remarked, ‘hum log side se chale jaate hain’ (we head in from the side) instead of posing on the carpet.

When asked about it again, Anurag remarked that the red carpet was the ‘least important’ part of Cannes and that cinema was the point. He also claimed that the Indians who come to the Cannes market aren’t watching the films.

When it was pointed out that the only Indian films at Cannes this year were the short film Shadows of the Moonless Night and the restored film Amma Ariyan, he said, “There is a lot of misinformation in India, and the producers fear festivals. So what happens is, they are never in time. They are delayed. And even if the film had a chance to showcase itself at any of the categories, they lose that chance because they are never in time.”

While only two films might have been sent to the film festival, Indian celebrities have been serving looks there. Alia Bhatt made waves in a blush-pink ensemble on the red carpet, while Urvashi Rautela wore a silver, diamante outfit. Tara Sutaria wore an ivory gown to the Red Sea Film Foundation’s Women in Cinema gala dinner. Several influencers and actors are also expected to make an appearance in the coming days. ‘

Recent work

In 2025, Anurag directed Nishaanchi and released the sequel directly on Prime Video after the first film collected ₹1.55 crore at the box office. His next film, Bandar, starring Bobby Deol and Sanya Malhotra, will be released in theatres on June 5. Anurag last starred in the Telugu film Dacoit: A Love Story, alongside Adivi Sesh and Mrunal Thakur. He has a Tamil film titled One 2 One lined up now. He has yet to announce other projects.