Dolly Singh to Pay 'Homage to Bollywood' on Cannes Red Carpet, Reveals Komal Pandey's Reaction | Exclusive

India’s representation will be big at this year’s Cannes Film Festival too. A slew of actors and influencers are all set to make their debut this year. One among them is digital content creator, Dolly Singh. She has already landed at the French Riviera and will be walking the red carpet today. She will also be attending official movie screenings at the iconic Grand Lumiere Theatre. In an exclusive conversation with News18, Dolly reveals that the past one week has been a rollercoaster ride not only for her but also her friends and family who ‘got together to prep, fix everything up and make sure everything is in place’. She also gives us a hint of her outfit and talks about expecting some star-struck moments on the red carpet and catching the screening of Sunny Leone’s Kennedy. Excerpts:

What can you tell us about what you’re going to wear on the red carpet?

I don’t want to say too much because I don’t want people to think that she said so much but nothing worked out. I’m just nervous. But I’ve put in a lot of thought. We’ve put together mood boards and I was very particular about what I really wanted. I definitely wanted to showcase Indian roots and silhouettes and give a homage to Bollywood in some way. I didn’t want to do anything western especially for my first one. I wanted to represent the place I come from. Since I’m a fashion girl, I was all over Pinterest and bothering my stylist with all sorts of references. It’s obviously very exciting. I’ve never had such a big moment like this where we’ve to dress up. My best friend Komal and I were discussing these things. She told me, ‘After these many years, the fashion girl in you is ready to shine.’

Is there any particular film that you’re looking forward to watching?

We’re watching a film. But what I really wanted to see was Anurag Kashyap’s film [Kennedy] that’s being screened there because it’s such a proud moment for all of us. We were hoping to get tickets for that. But my fingers are still crossed and we’ll see if something works out. I feel that in any case, the films that get featured in Cannes makes for such a big feat for them and any film you end up watching, whether you know about it or not, will be good and worth watching. In that sense, I’m ready for everything. I’ve told my team that let’s make any screenings happen that we can make happen. We would love to get an exclusive access and that would be amazing.

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Earlier, only actors from the Indian film industry would be invited to the film festival. But now, a lot of social media influencers and content creators also make it to the red carpet. What do you have to say about this paradigm shift?

I think it’s a wonderful opportunity for all of us. All of us wanted to reach a big international platform like Cannes one day and represent our country. As a content creator, my industry being featured there makes me feel very proud. Girls like Masoom (Minawala), Diipa (Büller Khosla) and Malvika (Sitlani) went out and really made us proud. They’ve already set the precedent and I’m just going to follow that. I want to message some of them and ask them for some tips about how things go. It feels really nice that our industry now has gained so much recognition and that we’re being acknowledged, seen and given these opportunities considering we’re in a profession that’s new. We never thought it could happen. Since we’re the first generation doing this, we don’t know where this is going to go and what’s going to happen tomorrow. But I’m sure books will be written about this. It’s very exciting to be the first few people to make history. It’s pretty incredible!

Niharika NM, Ruhee Dosani and Ranveer Allahbadia will also be attending Cannes Film Festival. Is it comforting to have your friends and peers around?

I’m happy that so many of them are going. We’ll have our little community and family and whatever happens, we’ll be with each other. They’re genuinely so sweet. I was speaking to Diipa the other day about how to go about it and how much time is needed for makeup and photographs to be done. Everybody has been very helpful. It gives me a little bit of comfort that my people are going to be around me and if something happens, I can always count on them.

What else are you planning to do at French Riviera?

I’ll be attending the film festival for eight-nine days and then probably extend my trip for a much needed vacation. Cannes is obviously going to be fun but it will also be about pressure and nervousness. Once that’s done and dusted, I can chill and eat (laughs).