Can Cannes?

CANNES BIZ BUZZ: What's the festival all about? Uhm, er...

Every year, come mid-May, the world film fraternity heads to Cannes. The film festival, a 10-day blitz of glitz and glamour, attracts everyone "" the rich and famous, the wannabe rich and famous, the wanna-meet rich and famous, and the wanna-see rich and famous.

Some come in private jets, others in EasyJets, but they come. Some live in ¤1,000 rooms, luxury villas and luxury yachts, and others in little hotels, sometimes six to a room.

Accommodation is so expensive that the locals themselves can't afford it. They rent their apartments and go for luxury holidays elsewhere.

What actually happens at Cannes?

I have been going to this festival since 1994 and still don't have a clear answer. There is a façade, the visible reality, and the subterranean truth. Whatever happens, it's wall-to-wall.

On the face of it, Cannes is wall-to-wall bodies, wall-to-wall fashion and wall-to-wall parties. A not-too-diligent fly on one of the walls would come back with the impression that invitations to parties and events is all that matters.

It starts with wanting an invitation to the opening film "" a gala event brimming with black gowns, tuxedos and diamonds "" where you get to walk up a red carpet to see a movie. It's telecast live all over the world and on close-circuit TV all over Cannes.

Then there are the routine parties hosted by the studios, the magazines and the large corporates. Finally it's the niche stuff "" smaller, much more exclusive affairs held aboard yachts and villas.

All in all, it's the mother of all hype. And the best thing is, it's all a creation, a creation inspired by timeless professions. If you want to sell, you must dress up, and the better you dress, the more you sell.

I came in last night, the eve of the opening, and true enough, it was like walking into the back stage of a fashion show. Cannes was in a state of undress.

The police were supervising the painting of zebra stripes on streets, carpenters were furiously hammering away at the red carpet, Eskimos with huskies were parking their sleds full of wares, Red Indians were arranging their pan pipes on the streets, and the CII team was dressing the India Pavilion.

This year, the India Pavilion is on the Croisette (the sea-facing promenade) where all the action is. It was to be inaugurated by the secretary of I&B who unfortunately had to cancel at the last minute.

Now I am told it may be inaugurated by Sharmila Tagore, but I think it is unlikely as I saw her at Heathrow airport yesterday headed towards Madrid. Preity Zinta is billed to be there, so we will have some action.

The inauguration itself isn't important, and I suspect none of the other countries' pavilions are "inaugurated", but the dropping out of the government delegation is unfortunate as some crucial meetings of the India-UK

Co-production Treaty were scheduled.

In any case, the "India Everywhere" mood is on, and we are likely to see at least 50 participants from India this year. Adlabs has an "adda" for young filmmakers, and the CII/India Pavilion will be a watering hole for all Indians and those interested in India.

From this afternoon it will be business as usual and as hard as usual. In the next few days I will explore what India does at Cannes.

And what it ought to be doing. Hopefully, the two will be close.

Bobby Bedi is managing director of Kaleidoscope Entertainment and chairman of the Entertainment Committee, CII.

He will write a daily Cannes diary for Business Standard