Two Indian legends on Cannes trip

Bollywood will make its presence felt at the Cannes festival in May, what with a smattering of film folk including Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya...

Bollywood will make its presence felt at the Cannes festival in May, what with a smattering of film folk including Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai, Randhir Kapoor and Sanjay Leela Bhansali expected to visit the French Riviera for the mega event.

Filmmaker Bhansali, whose latest film, Devdas has been invited to Cannes for an out-of-competition special screening, says he is delighted. ‘‘It’s a big honour to be invited to a festival that is essentially devoted to showcasing avant garde cinema,’’ he says, revealing he intends to travel with as many of his teammates as he can.

‘‘My Devdas and Paro will be with me,’’ he says, confirming both Shah Rukh and Aishwarya will attend Cannes. He is unsure if Madhuri Dixit (Chandramukhi) will make it.

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Bhansali says his film is almost ready, and at Cannes he will screen the complete two-hour-45-minute version with all the songs. ‘‘They will see the film as it should be seen.’’ Bhansali says he’s ecstatic that after two-and-half-years, Devdas will finally premiere at a prestigious platform. ‘‘This is a big moment for popular Indian cinema,’’ he says. A mainstream Hindi film has now been chosen for a festival that in the past has only shown offbeat Indian films.

Bhansali reveals that some months ago he was visited by Christian June, a director of the Cannes Film Festival, who was in India surveying the Bollywood scene.

Only earlier this week, however, Bhansali received official intimation via email, that Devdas had been officially invited to Cannes.

Also visiting Cannes will be actor-director Randhir Kapoor, his mother Krishna Raj Kapoor, and his sister Ritu Nanda, who will represent their father’s banner, RK Films, at the homage that Cannes has decided to pay Raj Kapoor.

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Three films (Aag, Barsaat, Awaara) of the legendary film-maker will be screened at the festival, and the Kapoors will meet the attending guests at Cannes on May 21.

‘‘I’m told it’s one of the the first posthumous retrospectives they’re having at Cannes,’’ actor-director Rishi Kapoor says. Although he intended to visit the festival himself, Rishi Kapoor says he won’t be going as his son Ranbir is expected back in Mumbai from New York around the same time.

Kapoor says he’s not unduly excited about the retrospective, but ‘‘given the choice, I’d have included Shri 420, Jis Desh Mein Ganga Behti Hai and Jaagte Raho, but I think they want my father’s early work”.