Mame Khan on being first folk singer on Cannes red carpet, viral Ghoomar video with Deepika | Exclusive

Mame Khan became the first folk singer to walk on the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Mame Khan spoke about his viral Ghoomar video with Deepika, folk music and being a pride to Rajasthan.

This year's Cannes Film Festival is special for many reasons. Not only is India the Country of Honour at the esteemed film festival, but there have also been many firsts, including a folk singer hailing from Rajasthan walking down the red carpet as part of the Indian delegation. Mame Khan, a Rajasthani folk singer, was seen alongside Union Minister Anurag Thakur, celebrated actors like Nawazuddin Siddiqui, R Madhavan, Pooja Hegde, and others as they represented India on the global stage. The delegation even inaugurated the Indian pavilion with a view to celebrating Indian cinema over the last few decades. In an exclusive chat with IndiaToday.in, Mame Khan shared his excitement about being the first folk singer to walk down Cannes red carpet and the viral video of him singing Ghoomar as Deepika Padukone and others danced to it.

Greeting us in the traditional Rajasthani style with a 'Khammakhani', Mame Khan said he felt honoured to be a part of the delegation. "It is a true pleasure to walk the red carpet alongside honourable Minister Anurag Thakur ji and the most renowned members of film and music industry. I would like to thank the Ministry of Broadcast and Communication. I am very happy and honoured for this huge opportunity and experience."

About his viral Ghoomar video, Mame Khan added that he felt proud to have 'stars' dancing to Ghoomar in a foreign land. "I sang during the inauguration of the Indian Pavilion alongside Minister Anurag Ji, AR Rahman sir, Pooja Hegde, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Tamannaah Bhatia, R Madhavan. We then had a meet and greet where everyone spoke about their experience. Deepika Padukone was also there. When it was my turn to speak about my experience, I was talking about folk music and how happy I was to be in front of all of them."

He explained how Urvashi Rautela encouraged him to sing. "Suddenly, Urvashi told me to sing something and then Shekhar Kapur also asked me to sing, so I sang Ghoomar. I invited Deepika to dance on Ghoomar, then she asked the other girls to join her in the dance. They were all dancing to my song and to see stars dancing to Rajasthani folk music in a foreign country is a big thing for me. I am thankful to my father, God, to my community and Jaisalmer," Mame Khan exclaimed.

Elaborating on his meet and greet and the experience he took home, Mame Khan shared, "The meeting [with the delegation] was great. I got to meet everyone from the field of cinema and music. I want to say that if we speak about cinema, it is incomplete without music. Music inspires films and films inspire music. Both categories are a magical combination. It was a lot of learning and enriching cultural exchange for me."