Cannes 2023: Union Minister Murugan poses with Oscar-winning 'The Elephant Whisperers' producer Guneet Monga

Four Indian films have made it to the official selection at Cannes Film Festival

Union Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting L Murugan, who is leading the Indian delegation at the ongoing year's Cannes Film Festival, posed with Oscar-winning documentary The Elephant Whisperersproducer Guneet Monga. Murugan walked the red carpet in traditional attire. In the picture, Murugan is dressed in a white shirt which got the national flag on its left side and a G20 logo on the right. He paired it with 'Veshti' to represent his culture at the global level. Guneet, on the other hand, opted for a golden-tone saree.

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Ahead of Cannes, Murugan told ANI, "The embroidery on the shirt has been done by my local tailor. It makes me immensely proud to wear the tricolour on my chest. Since we are doing so many events and showcasing our heritage at the G20 year-long plan, it is only fit that we tell the world about it," he added. Murugan went to the event last year too and India was the Country of Honour.

Guneet's documentary, helmed by debutant Kartiki Gonsalves, is a 41-minute short documentary movie that explores the precious bond between Raghu, an orphaned baby elephant, and his caretakers - a mahout couple named Bomman and Bellie - who devote their lives to protect him from poachers and raise him. The project, which is backed by Guneet's banner Sikhya Entertainment, beat four other contenders to clinch the statuette in the Best Documentary Short Category, making it the first Indian documentary and one of only two Indian productions to win an Oscar (the other one being RRR).

Like last year when India had a series of celebrities on the red carpet, this time, Indian actor, model and the winner of Miss World 2017 Manushi Chillar and actors Esha Gupta and Kangabam Tomba would walk the red carpet. Four Indian films have made it to the official selection at Cannes Film Festival. Kanu Behl's Agra will be his second film to have its world premiere at Cannes, at the Directors' Fortnight. His 2014 debut film, Titli, was unveiled at the 'Un Certain Regard' section.

Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy is being screened in Midnight Screenings and Nehemich in the La Cinef section of the Festival de Cannes. Apart from these, many Indian films are slotted for being screened in Marche du Films. A restored Manipuri film Ishanhou, will be showcased in the 'Classics' section. The movie was previously played in the festival's 'Un Certain Regard' section in 1991 and the National Film Archives of India preserved its film reels. The Manipur State Film Development Society got the film restored through the Film Heritage Foundation & Prasad Film Labs.

India will continue its push for being the content hub of the world, and a one-stop destination from conceiving to making films to doing post-production including graphics and animation and other modern techniques and tools. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Singh Thakur had spoken about it during his visit to the festival last year. This year's special focus will be on India's culture and heritage at the India Pavilion. The theme for this year's Pavilion is based on the Goddess of knowledge, Saraswati. It has been designed by the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad with the theme - 'Showcasing India's Creative Economy' to the global community.