The annual Cannes Film Festival has come to an end. Apart from a Punjabi short film by Mehar Malhotra, Indian cinema had little representation at the prestigious festival this year. While several Indian celebrities made appearances on the red carpet, most attended for brand collaborations and fashion showcases rather than for film screenings or official selections.
Updated On: 2026-05-25 02:59 PM IST
Compiled by : Athulya Nambiar
The unnecessary trolling
L'Oreal is the official make-up partner of the festival and the brand invites its global ambassadors for the festival. Alia Bhatt is one of the most prominent talents from India and whether you like it or not, she has represented India gracefully far better than most people can ever imagine? And trolling over being ignored? With the chaos of the red carpet, there is no ignoring, everyone gets their space, gets clicked and moves on
The Aishwarya-era is over?
There is no doubt that the love for Aishwarya Rai is still intact. So much so that at the beginning of the festival, fans bashed L'Oreal for not mentioning the Beauty queen in their line-up. While she may be the Queen of Cannes, but maybe the Queen can be a bit more exclusive
AI a fear or uneasy acceptance?
At Cannes 2026, conversations around artificial intelligence shifted from fear to cautious acceptance.While a humanoid robot on the Croisette symbolised concerns about machines replacing human creativity, industry leaders acknowledged that AI is becoming unavoidable. Jury member Demi Moore stated that fighting AI is “a battle we will lose,” urging the industry to find ways to work alongside the technology. Although Cannes officially banned films using generative AI from its competition section, AI had a visible presence at the festival market. Meta partnered with the festival, and its AI tools were used in Steven Soderbergh’s documentary John Lennon: The Last Interview, signalling a major shift for independent cinema.
The Market is not the festival
Many makers advertised that their film is being premiered at the festival. However, barring Mehar Malhotra's Punjabi short film, no other Indian film was part of the main competition. Filmmakers can exhibit their films at the Market for a fee. This a point that Indian filmmaker Anurag Kashyap stressed at many places
Why is Urvashi still here?
Urvashi Rautela's purpose at the film festival has still not be decoded. The actress has not been serving with fashion or with her work at the festival
Overrepresentation much?
While it was great seeing actor Ashok Saraf get his due on a platform like Cannes, several other Marathi celebs might have gone over board with the representation that takes away attention from the films.
Reports suggest the team travelled to Cannes for the global launch and promotion of the OTT platform Abhijat Marathi. The presence of Marathi artists at Cannes this year highlighted the growing international visibility of regional Indian entertainment industries beyond mainstream Bollywood
Hollywood goes missing
This year’s Cannes Film Festival lacked its usual big Hollywood presence, with major filmmakers and studios choosing to skip the event altogether. Unlike previous years, when stars like Tom Cruise brought blockbuster premieres to the festival, there was not a single major studio film on the Cannes red carpet in 2026. Ironically, the festival’s biggest crowd gathered for a 25th anniversary screening of The Fast and the Furious, highlighting Cannes’ struggle to create fresh Hollywood buzz. Industry experts believe studios avoided Cannes due to rising costs, harsh critical scrutiny, and the uncertain impact of festival premieres on box office performance. Recent successes of blockbuster films released without festival debuts have further suggested that Hollywood studios may no longer view Cannes as essential for publicity or awards momentum
What next?
