Union Minister Murugan to lead Indian delegation at Cannes

Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan will lead the Indian delegation at this year's Cannes Film Festival. He will be accompanied by some well-known names from the world of Indian cinema on the red carpet at the French Rivera.

This year too India will be showcasing its cultural heritage at the film festival. Murugan, who hails from Tamil Nadu, has chosen to wear the traditional Veshti on the red carpet instead of a Western outfit.

What is even more interesting is that the shirt that Murugan will wear on the red carpet will have the national flag on the left side and the G20 logo on the right side.

India holds the presidency of G20 and several functions are being held in different parts of the country.

"The embroidery on the shirt has been done by my local tailor. It makes me immensely proud to wear the tricolour on my chest," Murugan told ANI.

"Since we are doing so many events and showcasing our heritage at the G20 year-long plan, it is only fit that we tell the world about it," he added.

Murugan went to the event last year too and India was the Country of Honour.

Like last year when India had a series of celebrities on the red carpet, this time too Oscar award-winning Indian filmmaker Guneet Monga of 'The Elephant Whisperers' fame, Manushi Chillar, Indian actor, model and the winner of the Miss World 2017, Esha Gupta - acclaimed actor of the Indian Cinema and Kangabam Tomba - acclaimed Manipuri actor would walk the red carpet.

Four Indian films have made it to the official selection at Cannes Film Festival. Kanu Behl's 'Agra' will be his second film to have its world premiere at Cannes, at the Directors' Fortnight. His 2014 debut film, 'Titli', was unveiled at the 'Un Certain Regard' section.

Anurag Kashyap's 'Kennedy' is being screened in Midnight Screenings and Nehemich in the La Cinef section of the Festival de Cannes. Apart from these, many Indian films are slotted for being screened in Marche du Films.

A restored Manipuri film 'Ishanhou', will be showcased in the 'Classics' section. The movie was previously played in the festival's 'Un Certain Regard' section in 1991 and its film reels were preserved by the National Film Archives of India. The Manipur State Film Development Society got the film restored through the Film Heritage Foundation & Prasad Film Labs.

India will continue its push for being the content hub of the world, and a one-stop destination from conceiving to making films to also doing post-production including graphics and animation and other modern techniques and tools. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur had spoken about it during his visit to the festival last year.

A special focus this year will be on India's culture and heritage at the India Pavilion. The theme for this year's Pavilion is based on the Goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. It has been designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad with the theme - 'Showcasing India's Creative Economy' to the global community.

The pavilion design has been inspired by the Saraswati Yantra, the abstract representation of the goddess Saraswati, keeper of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom and learning. The colours of the pavilion draw inspiration from the vibrant colours of India's national flag - saffron, white, green, and blue.

Saffron for the strength and courage of the country, white for inner peace and truth, green for showcasing fertility, growth, and auspiciousness of the land, and blue for the law of dharma and truth. India has a huge reservoir of talent and the Indian Pavilion will provide the platform to the Indian film community to sign distribution deals, greenlight scripts, crack production collaborations and simply network with the world's major entertainment and media players.

Among the top highlight of last year's festival was the premiere of R. Madhavan's Film Rocketry.

Anurag Thakur, who will not be present physically at the festival, will address the inaugural through a video message.