She paused between frames, turned slightly, and reset her stance with an ease familiar to her audience, echoing her fit-check moments, now unfolding in a much larger setting. Photographers filled the Le Tapis Rouge at the latest edition of Cannes Film Festival, cameras flashing as B’luru-based content creator Rida Tharana moved through the carpet. The moment quickly caught online attention, turning it into a girls’ girl celebration, with many calling it a brown girl moment of pride.
Tharana admits the opportunity didn’t feel easy at first, with hesitation and anxiety building up as the moment came closer. Even at the last minute, she found herself wishing for a way out. “I did not want to do it. I was not in a mental state or capacity to pull it off... even at the last minute, I thought that if there was any malfunction or if the film that day got cancelled, I wouldn’t have to walk. I was really nervous and I also was sceptical about the whole idea of how the internet is going to take it,” she reveals.
With time and reassurance from her team and friends who constantly hyped her up, she chose to show up, holding on to the thought that it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment she shouldn’t let fear take away. The ivory couture gown she wore, by corset designer Nikhil Gajare, featured a strapless corset bodice with sculpted, curved panelling and a voluminous layered skirt. Architectural yet fluid, it held structure under the lights. Her styling stayed minimal, with a curly updo and soft makeup. She describes slipping into the ensemble as a dreamlike moment. She shares, “When I wore the gown, I immediately felt like a princess and a little girl living her dream, who always wanted to wear humongous gowns and play around.” Her much-talked-about jewellery was designed as a custom diamond piece by House of Senco.
The experience lingered and took time to sink in once the rush had faded. Her family, she says, didn’t immediately understand the scale of the moment. Coming from a humble background, it was only after calls started coming in from people in their village and friends, that it began to sink in. Notably, an emotionally-charged video of her younger sister and creator Huda Thamanna praising the 27-year-old’s debut Cannes moment garnered a warm response on social media.
Growing up, the conversation around beauty was not always kind to Tharana, who recalls being heavily influenced by fairness cream ads and the ideas they sold. “I remember being obsessed with ads where a girl walks into an interview with brown skin and gets rejected, applies the cream, becomes fair and gets accepted. Those kind of things really do something to you,” she says. She remembers spending years questioning her own appearance, waking up and looking into the mirror, hoping her skin looked lighter. Comments comparing her with her sisters added to the loop. “People would say, ‘She’s fair, but you’re dark. Your features are nice though,’ and that stays with a little girl growing up,” she shares.
Curly hair came with its share of struggle too as she recalls that growing up, nobody around her knew how to care for it and most beauty references around her revolved around straight hair. Embracing her curls and skin tone took time. “This is who I am, this is what I genetically carry and there is nothing wrong with that,” she says, adding that the Cannes moment gave her a larger space to speak about something she had carried for years.
Born and raised in Kodagu as a Muslim woman, Tharana says her experience of culture and identity has always looked slightly different. While she remains thoughtful about presentation, she hints at more experimentation ahead. “There is something really cool coming in store for me,” Tharana says, sharing that she hopes to play more with fashion next.