Actor Ayush Mehra, who walked the red carpet this year at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, spoke at length about his time at the prestigious film festival, watching the films, and getting to be in the same place as his favourite actor, Emma Stone.
Ayush, in an exclusive conversation with MoneyControl.com, also spoke about the debate that influencers should not have been at the Cannes Film Festival. The ‘Kacchey Limbu’ actor argues that everyone who has worked hard is eligible to be at the film festival and that many bigger actors like Aishwarya Rai Bachchan also go with a brand.
On being asked about his take on the whole debate of influencers paying to make an appearance at Cannes, Ayush said: “Every person who goes to Cannes is invited by Cannes. I don’t know where this is coming from. Every artist is getting invited to Cannes. If you are going to the Mumbai Film Festival or the Toronto Film Festival, these are places where you can buy tickets and watch films. But in Cannes, it is a fraternity event, and only some of the tickets are available for the beach movie screenings. You go there through brands; Sobhita went with Magnum, and Kiara Advani went there with Red Sea. Aishwarya (Rai Bachchan) goes every year with LoReal. I went for Set Wet. So brands do take you there. If you quantify that in a monetary sense, it would add to a certain amount for that brand, but that is something that is there in every event.”
He said that even when they are promoting shows for example, Netflix or any other channel, their expenses are paid for by the production house itself.
Ayush said that if influencers have been given the opportunity to attend Cannes, they might also be deserving of it.
“Even if you have to go to promote a show—suppose Netflix—they are the people who are paying for everything. So, it depends on the place and the position. I also feel that it is not nice to point out this, as it has been happening for years. All these actors have not been paying themselves; they are going through brands. I think that’s something—just because they are influencers—so it feels like it should not happen for them. I can’t understand what’s the catch on this, but I just genuinely believe that if a brand is taking you to Cannes and you are getting an opportunity, then why wouldn’t you take it?” he added.
There have been reports that influencers paid a whopping amount of Rs 30 lakh to be at the festival. Ayush said every actor at the event is invited, and they go with a brand. It has been happening over the years.
“I feel that you can only go to Cannes if you are invited to Cannes. You can go to the place, for sure. You have to be invited and have to have accreditation of a certain level to be there. I don’t think everyone or anyone can be in Cannes. You should not take away from a certain aspect of the achievements these influencers have made. Yes, they are popular, and it may seem easy for them. It may seem they have gotten it easy, but they may have also gone through their struggles. If they have this opportunity, then they might be deserving of it. Look at the negative aspect of it, but look at the positive aspect of it. Wow, this person has also been there. I look at it as a positive aspect rather than just why this person is also there. I am happy for them,” he told us.
Talking about Nancy Tyagi, the influencer who was in the news for stitching her voluminous gowns for the Cannes red carpet, Ayush was all praise for her. The actor said Nancy is such a beautiful story.
“Nancy going there and showcasing her work is such a beautiful story. She is also on the influencer list of those who went there. Life changed for her. So, you can’t say we applaud for Nancy, and we don’t applaud for others. It is a very shallow way of looking at it. So, everyone who has been given the opportunity, then why will they not go there?” he said.
The actor also talked about his journey from Bollywood to walking the red carpet at Cannes. He says he went there to soak up all the cinema and watch good movies.
“It felt very amazing to be the actor representative from India to go there. It felt really nice. I have always said that Cannes is such a high-spirited film festival. It has been going on since 1943; it is no. 1 up there. With my film ‘Kachche Limboo’ going to TIFF two years ago, it just felt like a great opportunity to go to Cannes and see films and meet filmmakers, be around actors who are so brilliant, be around directors who are so brilliant, storytellers, the city is so great, the vibe of the city was nice, and also an Indian film being there after 30 years in the main competition, you felt really good to be there. I walked the red carpet as well; walking the red carpet or not walking the red carpet did not matter because I was going to this prestigious film festival, which was about films, so I felt happy being there.”
Ayush has worked on many OTT projects and around 300–400 ads before making his acting debut.
“As an actor, it has been a long journey. I did a lot of ads, around 300–400 ads, digital stuff for FilterCopy, TVF, and all these people. Then YouTube shows, then OTT shows, and after OTT shows, I did my first film, so it has been a persistent journey, and at every point of this journey with new projects, I have met some amazing people. I felt amazing to have gone to Cannes. Obviously, it would have been unreal if I had gone with my film, but just to be given this opportunity to go there as a cinema lover, Of course, I want to go to Cannes, and I want to meet people. It has been quite an eventful journey, for sure, as an actor. There is so much more left for me as an actor to do,” he says.
When asked if his presence at Cannes will get him more work back in Bollywood and on OTT, the actor says he doesn’t know that but wants to continue doing the good work and be ready for auditions to see if he suits the part or not.
“I don’t know if that makes that much of a difference. You are going to Cannes. The intention of it was to go and enjoy the cinema and to get inspired as an actor over there. I have no idea if that translates into things or perception changes; we did not go with that intention, but if anything, good comes out of it. But I genuinely feel that a lot of it depends on your skill and your ability. Rather than just going to Cannes and coming back. So, I think that’s primarily what it is: I must audition, and I have to be fit for that part. It doesn’t matter if I have been to Cannes, Berlin, or the Venice Film Festival. It must translate into how I am performing. So, I doubt that helps, but yes, perception may be,” he says.
Talking about his red-carpet appearances, Ayush says he gives full credit to his stylists for giving him chic and smart looks that were equally comfortable.
His own red-carpet appearance at the festival was memorable, where he wore a custom tuxedo by designer Sawan Gandhi.
“I must give a lot of credit to my stylist, Kudrat; she has been phenomenal. Kudrat and Kashish have been great at styling me for Cannes. So you can get overwhelmed by what you want to wear and how long you have to be there. Also, we were very mindful of the fact that we were at a film festival, so we had to dress up according to the occasion. I get where people dress up like the Met Gala, but eventually it's a film festival, and you must go there for a premiere. A lot of people who dress up like that don’t eventually end up watching the film because, obviously, you can’t sit in those gowns. You can’t sit in those attires. So, we were very clear about the fact that we want to wear clothes that are classy and chic, which make us look good, yet are fashionable. We were mindful of that. They did all of this in 15 days, and it is just commendable. I am really grateful for them in my life.”
Ayush didn’t get a chance to meet Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, who is a regular at Cannes, but says he felt good to be walking the red carpet with some esteemed people in the field of art and movies.
Ayush also saw his favourite actress Emma Stone’s movie and was all praise for her.
For the premiere of Academy Award winner Emma Stone starrer 'Kind of Kindness', Ayush wore a classic tux customised by Indian designer- Sawan Gandhi attending the carpet with the likes of Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and more.
Pairing the ivory blazer (made with fine-thread hand-stitched details) with a white shirt and black pants, Ayush’s stylist Kudrat Anand completed his look with a black bow.
“I did not meet Aishwarya; I am sure she must be busy. I really felt good and felt that red carpeting was just one of the things I did. It just gets over in, like, 4 minutes. Its hyped so much. When I finished it, I felt it was a little overrated. But it was fun; it was walking a red carpet. I didn’t give it much importance. I was going to a movie screening, which was more important. I was going for Kinds of Kindness, and Emma Stone and Yorgos Lanthimos are two of my favourite people. I really love the duo. I really look up to her as an actor for inspiration. It was so surreal. I told my team that if you don’t let me walk the red carpet and just let me watch films with them, I will take it with my eyes shut. It was that as an actor,” he said.
He also got a chance to meet music maestro AR Rahman, and the actor shared a selfie with him on his Instagram account too.
He said he had a fanboy moment with Rahman sir.
Ayush has also worked as an assistant director on Vicky Kaushal’s 'Uri: The Surgical Strike’, which was his last movie as an AD before he stepped into acting.
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