Cannes 2015 diary: Day 2 was manic, but also magic (Hello, Katrina!)

HT’s film critic Anupama Chopra talks about the ­second day of the Cannes Film Festival

HT’s film critic Anupama Chopra talks about the ­second day of the Cannes Film Festival...

When I first heard of FOMO or the ‘Fear of Missing Out’, I laughed out aloud. I thought it was a ridiculous concept. But at the Cannes Film Festival, it’s my most consistent emotion. I know for a fact that no matter how hard I scramble, I will miss out. There is no way to keep up with everything here — you have to choose between hundreds of films (competition and market), dozens of parties and thousands of film professionals to network with. It’s manic, but it’s also magic.

My day started with interviews with the talent on Mad Max: Fury Road, director George Miller’s rebooting of the cult ­classic. I chatted with Charlize Theron, Tom Hardy and George Miller.

British actor Tom Hardy came to promote his film, Mad Max: Fury Road

All us ­journalists were taken to a hotel, thirty ­minutes away from Cannes, for the ­interviews. I most enjoyed listening to Miller — he described himself as a visual composer. A man who must balance overblown spectacle with nuanced characterisation.

Then, we rushed to the India Pavilion to catch the I&B Minister of State, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore. The minister said that the government was trying to leverage India’s soft power by facilitating conversations. But when the conversation turned to the red carpet, he said, “It’s not my job to walk on the red carpet. That’s for actors and ­directors.”

Union Minister of State for Information, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore, with Jerome Paillard, director, Marche Du Film

Doing the job very well was actor Katrina Kaif who debuted at Cannes this year. She impressed the fashion mavens with her sartorial choices – Oscar de la Renta and Elie Saab. But she said the last two days were stressful, with fittings, clothes not ­arriving and last minute changes. But you wouldn’t know it from her smashing red carpet appearance — she walked with aplomb on seven-inch heels.

To avoid looking like a dwarf, I had to stand on a pile of newspapers to ­interview her. Katrina did a photo shoot with Julianne Moore and Naomi Watts, but she said her “big Cannes moment was meeting Jane Fonda. That’s what I’m going to take home.”

Left: Hollywood star Salma Hayek at the screening of Tale of Tales. Right: Bollywood star Katrina Kaif walked the red carpet on the ­second day as well

Jury members Panos H Koutras, Nadine Labaki, Isabella Rossellini, Tahar Rahim and Haifaa Al-Mansour pose for photographers during a photo call for the jury of Un Certain Regard