I&B offers to send Sharmila on Cannes trip

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has offered to fly Censor Board chairperson Sharmila Tagore to Cannes and back as per her wishes. ...

The Information and Broadcasting Ministry has offered to fly Censor Board chairperson Sharmila Tagore to Cannes and back as per her wishes.

Tagore will also have a car at her disposal when she is at Cannes. A day after it was reported by The Indian Express that the government had goofed up on travel arrangements for its special invitees, it has now prepared to roll out the red carpet for Tagore. Officials said everything had been sorted out but remained non-committal on Sandip Ray and actor Soumitra Chatterjee.

On her part, Tagore said she was glad the arrangements had been made ahead of time. “I will go,” she said after threatening to back-off on Thursday night.

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Stating that Ray was her mentor, Tagore said she was happy that the right kind of representatives were leaving for Cannes. “Bureaucrats come and go. We remember Ray for the special association he shared with us as artists. He gave me an opportunity to work in his film and I am honoured to represent our country at Cannes,” Tagore said.

As reported earlier, Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali will be screened at Cannes on May 12 on its 50th birthday — 49 years after it had won an award.

Tagore had refused to go, saying the tickets handed to her would mean a day’s wait at the Mumbai airport and footing the fare for the two-hour trip from Nice to Cannes. Ray’s son Sandip and actor Soumitra Chatterjee are yet to get official invites.

Sandip said he had not heard anything from anyone. “No one has got in touch with me,” he said. Chatterjee said it was sad no one had bothered to get in touch with Sandip. “It is unfortunate,” he said, who too will not go due to prior commitments.

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The Government had announced its intentions of flying Sandip, Tagore and Chatterjee to Cannes.

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