There will come a day when India won't be at Cannes, Cannes would be at India: A Proud Deepika Padukone At Cannes

The 75th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals is a special event for Indian cinema. This year the festival is celebrating Indian cinema and India has been chosen as the first 'Country of Honour' at Marche du Cinema.

A team of stars led by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur headed to the French Riviera to take part in the event. It includes Ricky Kej, Vani Tripathi, Prasoon Joshi, AR Rahman, R Madhavan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tamannaah, Pooja Hedge, Shekhar Kapur, and folk singer Mame Khan. Another key highlight of the festival is actress Deepika Padukone being part of the Cannes jury.

The Padmavat actress made a dazzling style statement on day 1 with Sabyasachi's Bengal Tiger couture saree. She paired it with a one-shoulder black sequinned blouse, Indian-styled chandelier, and headband. At the inauguration of the Indian pavilion, the actress stated that Indian cinema has the talent and ability to be in the international arena, and conviction is the need of the hour. The actress also danced to the tunes of ghoomar rendered by Rajasthani folk singer Mame Khan at the event.

Speaking further on the cinematic journey of Indian cinema, she added, "I truly believe there will come a day when India won't be at Cannes, Cannes would be at India. India is on the cusp of greatness. It's just the beginning..." Deepika also thanked AR Rahman and Shekar Kapur for putting the country on the global map.

This year, six Indian films are being screened which include Rocketry – The Nambi Effect (Hindi, English, Tamil), Godavari (Marathi), Alpha Beta Gamma (Hindi), Boomba Ride (Mishing), Dhuin (Maithili), and Niraye Thathakalulla Maram (Malayalam).

Besides Deepika, other Indians who have served as jury members include filmmaker Mrinal Sen, director Mira Nair, author Arundhati Roy, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, Nandita Das, Sharmila Tagore, Shekhar Kapur, and Vidya Balan.