{"id":4662,"date":"2016-06-24T01:25:53","date_gmt":"2016-06-23T19:55:53","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662"},"modified":"2016-06-24T01:25:53","modified_gmt":"2016-06-23T19:55:53","slug":"cannes-film-festival-b-grade-bollywood-celebrities","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?p=4662","title":{"rendered":"Cannes Film Festival: That Time of the Year When B-Grade Bollywood Celebrities Become Relevant Again"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"container page-content\"><p><span class=\"dropcap\">W<\/span><\/p><\/div><p>hen you hear the name \u201cMallika\u201d, what leaps to mind?<\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Perhaps you see the face of your cousin Mallika, or Mallika, the popular girl from college. Maybe you think of comedian Mallika Dua and hear a cartoon voice yelling \u201cscyauz me?\u201d in your head, or you took a mental left turn to <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/malaika-arora-khan-hot-item-numbers-songs-dancing-chaiyya-chaiyya-munni-badnam-dabanng-kareena-kapoor-katrina-kaif-bollywood-movies-cinema-india\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Malaika Arora<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. But unless you have a severe case of mid-2000s nostalgia, you probably haven\u2019t thought about erstwhile actress and \u201csex symbol\u201d, Mallika Sherawat, in a good few years. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Sherawat was a staple for noughties kids \u2014 a bindaas, bold and beautiful star who casually bought condoms for her partner in <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Khwahish<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> (2003) and serenaded then-Gujarat CM <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/music\/narendra-modi-india-2016-2017-demonetisation\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Narendra Modi<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> on his birthday from the set of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The Bachelorette<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, like a Haryanvi Marilyn Monroe. Often cast as the \u201cvamp\u201d in B-grade masala flicks, the outspoken, opinionated Sherawat was a public figure who grabbed eyeballs during our childhoods. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">So it is with all due respect that I wonder: What the hell is Mallika Sherawat, whose last major release was 2015\u2019s godawful <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Dirty Politics<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, doing at the most prestigious film festival of the year? <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">The 72nd annual Cannes Film Festival kicked off on Tuesday, and the proceedings are already heating up. Red carpet regular Aishwarya Rai Bachchan is always worth seeing, as are A-list fashionistas like Sonam Kapoor. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/culture\/fashion-police-met-gala\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Priyanka Chopra-Jonas<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, who can generally be found wherever there is paparazzi and\/or a product sponsor, is preparing for her debut on the French Riviera, and has already made a Cannes Instagram post showing off a Chopard watch. Deepika Padukone and Kangana Ranaut will both be strutting their stuff again this year. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Of course, none of these stars actually have a movie premiering at Cannes. A glance at the list of films in competition shows entries from countries as diverse as Romania, Senegal, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/soul-seoul-dreams-desi-k-pop-star-korean-music-psy\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">South Korea<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and Brazil \u2014 and yet, the largest film industry in the world hasn\u2019t been able to qualify in a single category, not documentaries or short films or features. Nor are there any Indians on the jury panels this year. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Still, we can\u2019t complain that India isn\u2019t well-represented at Cannes. A new Indian pavilion was inaugurated yesterday, to show off the great achievements in our cinema, and to make producers aware of incentives to Make In India. There\u2019s an argument to be made that screening even one Indian film might have been more effective than any pavilion. But at least we have a bevy of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/madhuri-papas-first-crush\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bollywood beauties<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> adding some glamour to the red carpet, right? <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Which brings us back to Mallika Sherawat \u2014 someone who hasn\u2019t been relevant to Bollywood for nearly a decade (or, depending on your perspective, ever), but who locked herself in a cage at Cannes last year to raise awareness about child <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/satire\/how-can-we-be-worse-than-pakistan-in-womens-safety\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">trafficking<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">. No doubt this was an admirable and important piece of activism to perform at the film industry\u2019s big premiere, and Sherawat looked lovely in her lilac gown this year, when she walked the carpet in the conventional manner. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">But there\u2019s no getting away from the fact that her <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/love-and-sex\/couple-fights-power-struggle-couch-bed\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">connection<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> to the wonderful world of cinema is tenuous at best. As for the rest of the Indian delegation? To paraphrase a modern statesman: We\u2019re definitely not sending our best people. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">There\u2019s director Madhur Bhandarkar, who, like Sherawat, was at the top of his game ten years ago, but now only emerges from his cryo-chamber to be a socialite on the festival circuit. There is Diana Penty, a model with five films to her credit, whose trip is being sponsored by Grey Goose <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/humour\/enough-world-binge-drinking-cancelled\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">vodka<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">.<\/span>\n\n<blockquote class=\"quote--center\"><p>Why have we sent Komolika and Pewdiepie\u2019s second-greatest nemesis to rub shoulders with Pedro Almovodar?<\/p><\/blockquote>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Surprisingly not the most egregious of all is the debut of <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Bigg Boss<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> contestant and K-serial celebrity, Hina Khan. On one hand, at least Khan is there with a distinguishable purpose \u2014 to unveil her short film <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Lines<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> at the Indian pavilion. On the other, she will be accompanied by India\u2019s Content Queen Ekta Kapoor \u2014 Mother of <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/pop-culture\/what-jk-rowlings-fantastic-beasts-can-learn-from-our-ichhadhari-naagins\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Naagins<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, Breaker of Common Sense \u2014 and former CBFC chairman and renowned lyricist, Prasoon Joshi. <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">What\u2019s going on, Bollywood? After a year that\u2019s seen films like <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Gully Boy<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Andhadun<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Badhaai Ho<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, and <\/span><i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Manto<\/span><\/i><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> capture the hearts of the janta, and the explosion of talented creators in regional cinema and webseries, why have we sent Komolika and Pewdiepie\u2019s second-greatest nemesis to rub shoulders with Pedro Almovodar (and can someone please post the footage of this doomed interaction on Instagram for our viewing pleasure?) Where are Bhumi Pednekar and <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/vicky-kaushal-masaan-raazi-manmarziyaan\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">Vicky Kaushal<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">, or directors like Ritesh Batra, Tigmanshu Dhulia, and Gauri Shinde? <\/span>\n\n<span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">For an industry that\u2019s spent the last two years pulling out all the stops to prove how <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.arre.co.in\/bollywood\/in-josh-filled-2019-would-main-hoon-na-bollywoods-masala-movie-on-the-military-find-any-takers\/\"><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\">patriotic<\/span><\/a><span style=\"font-weight: 400;\"> they are, it looks like Bollywood\u2019s elite couldn\u2019t care less about representing their country at Cannes. Beyond posing on the red carpet, India\u2019s contribution to cinema is, according to one of the biggest film festivals in the world, currently at zero. With the latest batch of so-called celebrities we\u2019re foisting on the Riviera, make that minus marks. <\/span>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>There\u2019s no getting away from the fact that Mallika Sherawat\u2019s and Hina Khan\u2019s connection to world cinema is tenuous at best. Yet they are gracing the Cannes red carpet. As for the rest of the Indian delegation? To paraphrase a modern statesman: We\u2019re definitely not sending our best people.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":208,"featured_media":4663,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[82],"tags":[278,141,279,1281,8265,2200,8266,8267,3882,8268,1284,8269,8024,340,283],"class_list":["post-4662","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pop-culture","tag-aishwarya-rai","tag-bollywood","tag-cannes","tag-deepika-padukone","tag-diana-penty","tag-ekta-kapoor","tag-film-festival","tag-french-riviera","tag-hina-khan","tag-indian-pavilion","tag-kangana-ranaut","tag-mallika-sherawat","tag-pewdiepie","tag-priyanka-chopra","tag-sonam-kapoor"],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v28.0 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/product\/yoast-seo-wordpress\/ -->\n<title>Cannes Film Festival: That Time of the Year When B-Grade Bollywood Celebrities Become Relevant Again<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"There\u2019s no getting away from the fact that Mallika Sherawat\u2019s and Hina Khan\u2019s connection to world cinema is tenuous at best. 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To paraphrase a modern statesman: We\u2019re definitely not sending our best people.","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Kahini Iyer","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662"},"author":{"name":"Kahini Iyer","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/dfa7873b3da2fc04ce9c2175364ca0e1"},"headline":"Cannes Film Festival: That Time of the Year When B-Grade Bollywood Celebrities Become Relevant Again","datePublished":"2016-06-23T19:55:53+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662"},"wordCount":867,"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1558016594.jpg","keywords":["aishwarya rai","bollywood","cannes","Deepika Padukone","diana penty","Ekta Kapoor","film festival","french riviera","Hina Khan","indian pavilion","Kangana Ranaut","mallika sherawat","pewdiepie","priyanka chopra","sonam kapoor"],"articleSection":["Pop Culture"],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662","name":"Cannes Film Festival: That Time of the Year When B-Grade Bollywood Celebrities Become Relevant Again","isPartOf":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1558016594.jpg","datePublished":"2016-06-23T19:55:53+00:00","author":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/dfa7873b3da2fc04ce9c2175364ca0e1"},"description":"There\u2019s no getting away from the fact that Mallika Sherawat\u2019s and Hina Khan\u2019s connection to world cinema is tenuous at best. Yet they are gracing the Cannes red carpet. As for the rest of the Indian delegation? To paraphrase a modern statesman: We\u2019re definitely not sending our best people.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#primaryimage","url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1558016594.jpg","contentUrl":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1558016594.jpg","width":1520,"height":850},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?p=4662#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Cannes Film Festival: That Time of the Year When B-Grade Bollywood Celebrities Become Relevant Again"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#website","url":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/","name":"Arr\u00e9","description":"In every person lies a creator and in every creator, an enterprise.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"http:\/\/13.201.39.237\/#\/schema\/person\/dfa7873b3da2fc04ce9c2175364ca0e1","name":"Kahini Iyer","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28f0aaa78fb3c2e6f74a6b9942c215b9e05c4f129048918912e608a6e3d60946?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28f0aaa78fb3c2e6f74a6b9942c215b9e05c4f129048918912e608a6e3d60946?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/28f0aaa78fb3c2e6f74a6b9942c215b9e05c4f129048918912e608a6e3d60946?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Kahini Iyer"},"url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/?author=208"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/07\/1558016594.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4662","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/208"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=4662"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4662\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/4663"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=4662"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=4662"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/13.207.105.184\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=4662"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}