As the Festival de Cannes celebrates its 75th anniversary, India has been chosen as the Country of Honour for the Marché du Film 2022, the business side of the prestigious French film festival. The ode to Indian filmmakers and their craft naturally created a huge buzz online, and Amul too has jumped on the bandwagon.
As the diamond jubilee of the coveted event in the world of cinema coincided with the 75th year of its independence, India has become the first country chosen for the honour. The dedication marks “a momentous milestone for both institutions,” according to the festival committee.
To mark the unique celebration, a special screening of Pratidwandi by Indian auteur Satyajit Ray has been planned as part of the festival’s Cannes Classics section. The restored version of the 1970 Bengali drama film, written by Ray and based on Sunil Gangopadhyay’s eponymous novel, will be screened.
Now, cheering for the one-of-its-kind opportunity, the dairy brand featured a scene from the black-and-white film in its latest topical ad with the film’s protagonists. “Amour-a Tumhara Cinema!” the brand wrote in a witty play on hamara tumhara cinema.
This is, however, not the first Amul topical ad related to the Cannes. Last month, when Bollywood actor Deepika Padukone was named as one of the jury members for the film festival, the brand featured her in an ad.
Announcing the joyous news, Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur said the celebration would kick off during the Marché’s traditional Opening Night festivities on May 18 on the Majestic Beach. He added that there would be special performances by Indian choir bands along with folk music.
As it also marks the 75th year of Indo-French diplomacy, India is the Country of Honour at the Cannes Next, under which five startups will be given an opportunity to pitch ideas to the audio-visual industry.
