Cannes 2022: 6 Indian films that will be screened at the film festival

The 2022 Cannes Film Festival is right around the corner and India is already creating quite the buzz. For the uninitiated, India is the country of honour at the Cannes Film Market (Marché du Film) and several Bollywood celebrities are set to grace the red carpet starting May 17. Among the films screening at the Cannes Film Market is R Madhavan’s directorial debut Rocketry: The Nambi Effect. And that’s just one of the six titles from the country to be showcased at the film festival.

The information and broadcasting ministry announced the full list of Indian films that will be screened. While these aren’t a part of the official Cannes showing, they will play at the prestigious Marché du Film. What’s great about the line-up is that it spotlights regional films and filmmakers.

Here are all the Indian films screening at the 75th Cannes Film Festival:

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect directed by and starring R Madhavan will get its world premiere at Cannes 2022. It is a biopic drama that chronicles the journey of Indian aerospace engineer Nambi Narayanan who was falsely accused of espionage. The story will be narrated in an interview by Shah Rukh Khan.

Godavari, a Marathi film directed by Nikhil Mahajan will also be screened at the festival. It follows Nishikant Deshmukh who lives in an old mansion. The synopsis reads, “Through generations, Nishi and his family have been rent collectors. They own a lot of property around the old part of town. While his grandfather, Naropant, suffers from dementia, his father Nilkanth, has chosen to forget.”

Joining the line-up is Dhuin directed by Anchal Mishra. The film is about aspiring actor Pankaj who makes a living performing street plays for the local municipality. Pankaj has a goal of earning enough in a month’s time to move to Mumbai. However, the COVID-19 lockdown affects his plans.

Alpha Beta Gamma directed by Shankar Srikumar is another film set during the pandemic. It tells the story of three people – a woman set to divorce her husband, the soon-to-be ex-husband and the woman’s boyfriend as they are locked in one home amidst the COVID-19 lockdown.

Tree Full of Parrots by filmmaker Jayaraj will also screen at the film festival. It follows an eight-year-old boy Poonjan who lives by the backwaters and earns for his family – a drunkard father, grandfather and great grandfather.

Boomba Ride directed by Biswajeet Bora is the sixth film to be screened at the Marché du Film. The film is a commentary on the rampant corruption in the rural education system of India.

It was earlier announced that Deepika Padukone will be a part of the competition jury that will announce the Palme d’Or honours at the Cannes Film Festival. Among the celebrities walking the red carpet are Akshay Kumar, AR Rahman, Pooja Hegde, Hina Khan and more. The 2022 Cannes Film Festival will take place between May 17 to May 28.