A few days ago, an official announcement from the Festival de Cannes revealed that actress-producer Deepika Padukone would be part of the festival jury headed by French actor Vincent Lindon.
Now it is learnt that actress Pooja Hegde will be making her debut at the 75th edition of the festival when India is going to be the ‘country of honour’ on the opening night of Marché du Film, the Cannes film market.
The highlights of the night will be Indian cinema and the country's rich cultural heritage.
The Cannes festival is slated to begin on 17 May and end on 28 May. Pooja Hegde will fly to France on 16 May. She will be attending the events on 17 and 18 May and also mark her presence at the after party.
Hedge said, “First and foremost I am so proud that India will be the country of honour this year at the Marché du Film at the Cannes Festival. Our country has a rich history at the festival, which goes back to Chetan Anand’s Neecha Nagar winning the top prize in 1946. I strongly believe in the power of cinema and stories to overcome language, geography and culture barriers. Cannes represents a unique celebration of those barriers being removed — through the coming together of film, culture and fashion. The opportunity to be attending and representing India is one I will always cherish.”
Hegde, who is known for her work in films like Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo (2020) and won praise for her recent performance in Radhe Shyam (2022), will be seen next in Rohit Shetty’s Cirkus (2022) with Ranveer Singh and the Salman Khan-starrer Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali (2023).