It was a wonderful moment for Big B Amitabh Bachchan to be invited to open the prestigious Cannes International Film Festival with Leonardo DiCaprio. He delighted everyone by addressing the audience in Hindi. He along with his The Great Gatsby co-star Leonardo was welcomed with warm applause when the audience found the two megastars on stage.
Big B expressed his unforgettable experienced on his blog. “Truly a historic moment for me, but immensely historic and honourable for the Indian film industry, a fraternity that I am and shall always be most proud of,” he posted on srbachchan.tumblr.com.
The 66th edition of Cannes will celebrate 100 years of Indian cinema this year. Amitabh felt honoured to be present there for premier of his Hollywood debut “The Great Gatsby”.
“The honour and respect meted out by Cannes, incredible. Announcing suddenly for Leonardo DiCaprio and myself to open the festival. With the entire world film fraternity at Cannes, applauding and welcoming our presence, treating us like royalty … it’s emotional.
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“For a complete alien in the midst of Cannes to be acknowledged, is the proudest moment for me as an Indian. Acknowledging Cannes in recognising 100 years of Indian cinema, it was absolutely imperative for me to address, in my mother tongue,” he posted.
Amitabh is playing Meyer Wolfsheim in the $125 million 3D film, which is an adaptation of F. Scott Fitzgerald’s novel. His co-star Leonardo plays the title character in the film.
The film festival was opened following a song from the film ‘The Color Purple’ by Steven Spielberg, who is the chief jury this year. Other jury members including Vidya Balan, Nicole Kidman, Ang Lee and Christopher Waltz were also welcomed on stage.
Vidya shined at the event with her gorgeous look and outfit. Her costume resembled that of a Manipuri dancer. She was in a lehenga designed by Sabyasachi Mukherjee. She drew the attention of all by covering her head with a veil on the opening night of the film festival. She looked pretty and unique. Her costume made her look more Hindustani on stage.
Nandita Das and Aishwarya Rai, one of the most recognisable faces at Cannes, were not seen on the Red Carpet. This year, Sonam Kapoor and Mallika Sherawat were hot actresses, who walked on the Red carpet. Sonam wore her white lace saree with a gold embroidered jacket, while Mallika was seen in a mustard gown for the first day of the film festival.