What
would
you
get
when
you
combine
the
Brand
Ambassador
of
Romance
and
the
God's
very
own
Kingdom
of
Love?
The
answer
is
'Rendezvous'!
This
is
exactly
what
had
taken
place
at
the
Grand
Hyatt,
Mumbai,
when
the
French
Embassy,
in
collaboration
with
Unifrance
inaugurated
the
1st
Rendez-vous
with
French
Cinema.
The
USP
of
the
event
was
undoubtedly
the
'Brand
Ambassador
of
Romance'
Shahrukh
Khan
himself,
who
was
conferred
the
prestigious
'Insignia
of
Officer
in
the
Order
of
Arts&Letters'.
With
this,
the
King
Khan
joins
the
league
of
the
previous
awardees
like
Arundhati
Roy,
David
Bowie,
Celine
Dion,
Bob
Dylan,
Leonardo
Di
Caprio,
Robert
Redford
to
name
a
few.
Also,
present
on
the
occasion
were
Verenioque
Cayla,
Managing
Director-CNC,
Jerome
Seydoux-Chairman
of
Pathe.
Even
though
the
event
was
nothing
short
of
a
visual
treat,
but
what
really
took
the
cake
was
the
Q&A
round
with
the
King
Khan.
Needless
to
say
that
SRK
was
in
his
elements
and
was
ready
with
an
answer
(read
'repartee')
to
every
question,
even
before
the
question
would
have
popped
up
in
the
person's
mind.
When
asked
about
his
take
on
the
French
cinema,
SRK
said
"It's
just
a
beginning.
I
feel
too
humble
for
this
huge
honour.
I
feel
that
I
am
taking
the
Indian
Cinema
much
beyond
as
a
career." He
also
drove
home
a
few
examples
to
explain
that
cinema
is
cinema,
irrespective
of
the
language.
Not
only
that,
SRK
also
got
nostalgic
about
his
first
ever
visit
to
France
(which
was
for
Devdas)
and
the
second
time
for
Veer
Zaara.
When
asked
about
his
popularity
in
France
and
his
acceptance,
he
resembled
a
personified
version
of
humbleness
and
modesty,
as
he
said
that
"It's
not
me
who
is
popular
in
France.
It's
the
Indian
Cinema
which
is
popular
and
I
am
just
a
part
of
the
Indian
Cinema!"
He
also
did
not
rule
out
the
possibility
of
a
French
film,
but
with
a
right
script
and
at
the
right
time!
Echoing
SRK's
sentiments
and
statements
was
His
Excellency
Jerome
Bonnfont,
the
Ambassador
of
France
in
India,
who
said
"We
want
to
marry
the
Indian
and
the
French
cinema,
which
will
take
some
time,
but,
will
happen
for
sure!" He
also
added
that
this
kind
of
'Rendez-Vous'
will
happen
every
year.
Story first published: Friday, August 5, 2011, 14:07 [IST]