Square hole, round pegs

Just as we begin to get over the Lakme India Fashion Week (LIFW) fatigue, another fashion mania hits our TV screens and newspapers. The Cannes Film Festival is the touchstone for international filmmakers, a place to joust for the coveted Palm d’Or, an annual forum to celebrate the best that filmmaking has to offer. But for Indians, it is reduced to a who-wore-what frenzy that would befit a page-3 evening. It all started when Aishwarya Rai was a Cannes juror in 2003. Eyebrows were raised at her slim credentials to judge the films in competition. But her unfortunate choice of wardrobe a la Neeta Lula stole the show. Ever since, Rai cried foul, parroting the “it’s a pity that the media chose to focus on what I wore rather than my accomplishment” defence.

But this year, it’s a different tale. We have three seemingly different women gracing the steps of the Palais de festival - the ‘serious/arty’ Nandita Das sits on the jury, “bombshell babe” Mallika Sherawat stars opposite Jackie Chan in the Myth and the “crossover aspirant/queen of coy” Rai opened the festival. This farfetched collective mirrors the quandary that the Indian films are in. Bollywood’s desire for international acclaim is at war with its internal impetus for formulaic repetitiveness, skin flicks and item numbers, leaving independent films on the fringe for the critics to chew over.

This ménage a trois has been placed bang in the middle of world consciousness, making for a farcical though entertaining sideshow. Even their choice of attire furthers the clichés that they embody. Rai with her Armani dresses seems at pains to underline her ‘international’ ambitions. Sherawat sticks to Indian designers but her take on the sexed-up Indian princess, as is her role in the Myth, results in something that would do a porn star proud. While Das’s presence at Cannes is impervious to trivialities such as fashion, she too goes overboard in proclaiming her Indian roots with her almost bridal saree and jewellery.

Of the three, Sherawat evokes the strongest reaction. Her cleavage baring, low cut cholis and waist high slits have resulted in puritanical tirades by media pundits. By refusing to play politically correct, she has laid bare the blatant side of Bollywood that promises instant notoriety to females willing to shed their clothes and their inhibitions. While Sherawat might be its current poster child, she is only delineating a reality that exists.

But this is not the story. While we managed to make somewhat of a splash on the glamour side of the festival, as a filmmaking country our only real contribution was a restored print of Satyajit Ray’s classic Pather Panchali. Given that the film was made in 1955, it’s an abysmal report card for the world’s largest film producing nation.

June 04 , 2005