Cannes 2024: Not Aishwarya Rai, This Is The First Indian Actress To Attend Biggest Film Festival Of The Year

First Indian Actress At Cannes: Aishwarya Rai Bachchan has always been the center of attraction at Cannes. From donning the yellow saree to debuting her daughter to the entire world, Aishwarya always managed to turn heads around with her glamorous looks. She debuted her appearance on Cannes' red carpet in 2002, however, Aishwarya was not the first Indian actress to have donned the red carpet. The first Indian actress who made the global appearance was the leading actress of 1965-1990s Indian new wave. Let us explore who this person is:

WHO WAS FIRST INDIAN ACTRESS TO ATTEND CANNES

The woman who looks younger than her age and who was Hyderabad's sensation for the longest time, Shabana Azmi, is the first Indian actress who made her debut at Cannes. Shabana went to Cannes 48 years ago. Her film "Nishant" was selected for Palme d'Or at 1976 Cannes Film Festival. Shabana along with Smita Patil and director Shyam Benegal attended the film festival.

SHABANA AZMI RECALLS HER CANNES MOMENT

Shabana and Smit donned the red carpte at Cannes wearing the saree, representing the Indian culture. Sharing the black and white picture of the trio, Shabana, Smita, and Shyam, Javed Akhtar's beloved recalled how they had no money and no publicity back then. She wrote, "At Cannes for #Nishant 1976. We had no publicity material and no money so #Shyam Benegal asked #Smita Patil and me to wear our best saris and walk up and down the promenade to attract attention."

Further claiming what advertisement meant back then for Shyam, Shabana wrote, "And when people turned around to stare at these strange looking exotic creatures we would persuasively plead " Our film is showing on so and so date pls come to watch it " and we managed a full house ! lThat was the advertising acumen of #Shyam Benegal."