Bollywood biggies bet big on Cannes

Leading the Indian charge will be evergreen star Dev Anand, whose 1965 super hit, Guide, is part of Cannes Classics, a section launched in 2004 to showcase restored or new prints of masterworks of the past.

Guide, directed by Vijay Anand, will be screened alongside such classics as Max Ophuls' Lola Montes (1955), Jean Cocteau's Orphee (1949) and the late Sri Lankan master Lester James Peries' Gamperaliya (1965), among several other timeless gems.

The only other Indian who will "officially" participate in the Cannes film festival this year is the Mumbai-based movie critic and writer, Anupama Chopra.

She is on the jury of the 'Un Certain Regard sidebar', which is a section of the festival's official section. The five-member jury is headed by Turkish-German filmmaker Fatih Akin and includes a critic each from Russia and Egypt.

On the sidelines of the glitzy festival, in the supercharged Cannes Film Market, a host of Bollywood corporate entities will unveil a slew of new products and announce their respective plans for the future.

Spearheading the Indian movie industry this year is Reliance Big Entertainment (RBE), the showbiz arm of the Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (ADAG).

Among other things, RBE is understood to have drawn up plans to announce its formal foray into the international movie business with a clutch of films starring A-list Hollywood stars.