BENGALURU: The weather could be rainy and gloomy at Cannes but it didn’t throw any bits of shade on Iti Acharya’s excitement for walking the red carpet of the Cannes Film Festival for the second time.
Bengaluru girl Acharya, who walked the red carpet on the opening day wearing a black gown, says, “I was invited by the festival and soon I got the invitation from a cosmetics company. The moment our profiles get in the list of Cannes invitees, all their brand partners start approaching the guests,” says Acharya.
Apart from the opening ceremony, she was there for the premiere of Jeanne du Barry, for which Johnny Depp reportedly got a seven-minute standing ovation. “I also went to the premiere of Indiana Jones and the Dial of Destiny. It was wonderful. But what I am looking forward to is two Indian films premiering at Cannes, Agra starring Rahul Roy, and Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy starring Sunny Leone and Rahul Bhat. Since this is such a global film festival, I felt it is my duty to show my support to the two Indian films that are premiering,” says Acharya, speaking to CE from Cannes, after taking a couple of minute breathers from her fittings.
Being in Cannes, where you are meeting all the global stars in flesh and blood, it is difficult to not get star-struck. “During the inauguration of the Indian pavilion, I got to meet the Hollywood star, Michael Douglas. I have watched all his films. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I would meet him in real life! Not just Hollywood, during my red carpet walk, Sara Ali Khan and I were standing next to each other while posing for the cameras. Cannes really makes the world seem like a small place,” she shares.
In the French Riviera for the whole festival, Acharya is looking forward to catching up with more people to learn more about films. Currently working on her short film, Acharya is ‘looking for more collaborators so that the short film has a wider scope’. Post Cannes, she is heading to Monaco to attend the Formula 1
Grand Prix, after which she is returning to India to resume her shoot.