Deepika made her debut as an eminent jury member last year in a saree moment that matched her Indian roots with a Western flair on the world stage. Padukone may have created history in the last year, but she is not the first jury member from the country.
Mrinal Sen is the first Indian to serve on the Cannes Film Festival jury. He became a member in 1982, the same year his picture Kharij was awarded the jury prize. His other films to be shown in France are Ek Din Pratidin, Khandar, and Genesis.
Mira Nair, a filmmaker and producer, won the Audience Prize at the Cannes Film Festival for her critically praised film Salaam Bombay! She was also a part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Golden Camera Category (Best First Feature) for the same picture. In 1990, she served on the jury.
Arundhati Roy is more recognised for her literary skills, having won the Booker Prize in 1997 for her work The God of Small Things, but she was selected to join the Cannes film jury in 2000. The novelist and activist began her career writing scripts, and she has also written for television.
In 2002, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her debut appearance at the Cannes Film Festival, where she stood out in a yellow sari on the red carpet for the premiere of her multi-award-winning film Devdas, which co-starred Shah Rukh Khan. Barely a year later, she was on the jury, making her the first Indian actress to do so.
Two years after Aishwarya, actress and filmmaker Nandita Das served as a jury member, in 2005. In 2013, the award-winning star, who’s known for directing Firaaq (2008) and for starring in Fire (1996) and Bawandar (2000), joined the jury for Cinefondation, a Cannes foundation that promotes next-generation international filmmakers, as well as the short film jury.
Sharmila Tagore, a veteran actress, joined the international jury in 2009, but her career in Cannes began decades earlier, when her 1960 picture Devi, directed by Satyajit Ray, was shown at the festival in 1962.
In 2010, Shekhar Kapur served on the jury. The Bafta and Golden Globe-nominated director and actor is most known for his roles in Elizabeth (1998), The Four Feathers (2002), and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).
Vidya Balan, who made a name for herself in Bollywood by playing female-centric parts at a period when women were underrepresented in popular cinema, was on the jury at the 66th Cannes Film Festival in 2013. The actress has given us scores of great performances since her debut in Hum Paanch in 1995.
For all the latest Entertainment News Click Here
For the latest news and updates, follow us on Google News.
