Rasika Dugal and Nandita Das made us proud at the 71st Cannes Film Festival. The actor shares her experience standing on those steps with 81 other women protesting against gender inequality. She also talks about her upcoming film Manto which premiered at the Cannes Film Festival, 2018.
This was Rasika's second time at Cannes. Last year, the team of Manto -- director Nandita Das and lead actor Nawazuddin Siddiqui -- had introduced the movie by sharing its first look. This time, the film premiered. But this was not her only shining moment at the festival but she also took centre stage at Cannes by participating in the protest march, led by 82 women against gender inequality.
For the uninitiated, here’s the background on the red carpet protest.
The #MeToo movement unfurled at the Cannes Film Festival on 12 May, as Cate Blanchett, Marion Cotillard, Patty Jenkins and other female filmmakers and artists gathered together to agitate for better treatment of women in the movie business.
There were 82 women in total, a reference to the number of female directors who have climbed the steps of the Palais, the festival’s central theater, since Cannes began celebrating celluloid in 1942. In contrast to their 82, 1,866 films directed by men have been picked for the prestigious festival lineup, Blanchett said in a statement, as the women linked their arms in solidarity. The Oscar-winning actor and Cannes jury head was flanked by Kristen Stewart, Marion Cotillard, Ava DuVernay, Léa Seydoux, Salma Hayek, Rasika Dugal and Nandita Das.
Organisers said the event was orchestrated by the Time's Up movement and the French movement known as 5020x2020 to show "how hard it is still to climb the social and professional ladder" for women.
The women made their presence felt and their voices heard.
Editor: Ashish Maccune
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