Pooja Hegde at Cannes 2022: 'I've Come as a Representative for Brand India, There Can't be a Bigger Honour'

The Cannes Film Festival 2022 is here as celebrities all across the world have gathered on the French Riviera to attend one of the most prestigious film festivals on the planet. This year’s edition of Cannes has Indian celebrities including Deepika Padukone, who is also a member on the Cannes’ jury, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, R Madhavan, AR Rahman, Tamannaah Bhatia and Nawazuddin Siddiqui attending the festival.

Actor Pooja Hegde is making her debut at the 75th Cannes Film Festival. She was seen speaking at the Indian Pavilion where she discussed and elaborated on how honoured she was to be given the opportunity to attend Cannes representing the rich culture of India.

While addressing an event in the Indian Pavilion where film industry members like Tamannaah Bhatia, R Madhavan, Deepika Padukone, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, AR Rahman and Prasoon Joshi, including others, were all present, Hegde expressed her gratitude for the opportunity to attend the Cannes. Referring to Anurag Thakur, the Union Minister of Sports and Youth Affairs as well as Information and Broadcasting, she said, “It has always been a dream to work at Cannes and I think what’s amazing sir – thank you Anurag sir for making this happen – is that I have not come with a brand but I have come with brand India. I have come as a representative for India. There cannot be a bigger honour for me to be very honest, to come as an Indian actor celebrating Indian cinema.”

Alluding to a previous statement by Prasoon Joshi, Hegde mentioned, “We have many stories in India.” Taking the example of renowned filmmaker, Satyajit Ray, Hegde continued, “What the West loves about India is Satyajit Ray sir’s films, whether it is the Apu series or whether it is a film like ‘Nayak’ which is about a hero and his personal struggle and it has just been shot so beautifully. It’s got so much skill, so much craft and we have that talent in India, we have it. We just need to stop aping the West and we need to embrace our personal stories whether it is ‘Charulata’. These are like films that are from India which have been celebrated across the globe.”

Hegde also mentioned the highly skilled Indian music composer and singer, AR Rahman and actor, Nawazuddin Siddiqui for their contributions to Indian cinema and their efforts that placed the country on the map. Hegde also paid homage to the late actor, Irrfan Khan. She said, “Rahman sir, you have put India on the map. Nawaz sir, you are doing amazing work whether it is working with the West or like, if Irrfan sir was not here today, who also kind of put India on the map.” The actress finished her statement by saying, “So I just feel like we should stop aping the West.”

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