"There Will Come A Day When India Won't Be At Cannes, Cannes Would Be At India": Deepika Padukone

The 75th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is extra special for India for more than just one reason. To begin with, this year the prestigious film festival is celebrating Indian cinema. India has been chosen as the first 'Country of Honour' at Marche du Cinema. Secondly, actor Deepika Padukone is on jury duty. At the inauguration of the India pavilion at Cannes on Wednesday, the actress spoke about India's cinematic journey so far. Deepika said: "I feel we have a long way to go as a country, I feel really proud to be here as an Indian and to be representing the country. But when we look back at 75 Years of Cannes, I have said earlier also that there have been only a handful of Indian films, and Indian talent that have been able to make it and I feel like collectively as a nation today we have it," news agency ANI stated.

The actor-producer added during the ceremony: "We have the talent, we have the ability and I think we just sort of need that conviction and I truly believe there will come a day when India won't be at Cannes, Cannes would be at India."

Thanking music composer AR Rahman and filmmaker Shekhar Kapur for representing India globally with their exemplary work, Deepika Padukone said, "India is on the cusp of greatness. It's just the beginning... I want to thank Rahman sir and Shekhar sir for putting India on the global map and creating a path for all of us to be here today," the actress said.

The Indian delegation at the festival is being led by Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur along with Shekhar Kapur, Ricky Kej, Prasoon Joshi, folk singer Mame Khan and actors Nawazuddin Siddiqui and R Madhavan among others.

Besides Deepika Padukone, the list of stars who have been on jury duty at Cannes, include late filmmaker Mrinal Sen, who was the first Indian to serve as a jury member of Cannes back in 1982, followed by director Mira Nair in 1990.Author Arundhati Roy was a Cannes jury member for the festival's 2000 edition, followed by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan in 2003, Nandita Das in 2005, Sharmila Tagore in 2009, Shekhar Kapur in 2010 and Vidya Balan in 2013.

(With inputs from ANI)