#IndiaAtCannes | Aditi Rao Hydari: I know I am going to be watched closely at my Cannes debut

Aditi Rao Hydari is nervous because she is not feeling nervous about making her Cannes debut. Explaining why she says so, she tells us, “I was actually supposed to go earlier, but that year the lockdown happened. I am now going this year, I have a packed schedule because I am doing various things. I am looking forward to it. At that time, it was very different. I was excited, but there was a lot of pressure like ‘what am I going to wear’.”

This time around, the 35-year-old has been bombarded with questions by a lot of people about her debut. But the pan Indian actor, who has been a part of films in Hindi, Telugu, Tamil and Malayalam, says, “I am constantly telling myself ‘remember growing up you saw a dream of being at Cannes, being in films, of experiencing this magical thing’. I am just telling myself to go there and feel that. I really just want to be in the moment, take in every bit of the magic that I am surrounded by.”

Being on such a global platform must come with it’s own set of pressures, we ask Hydari, the Hey Sinamika! actor replies in the affirmative, “I know I might make mistakes, I am going to be watched closely. That’s fine, everybody has to do what they have to do. I do have a responsibility, but I also have a responsibility towards my work, to myself, to have fun. I feel lucky that I am at Cannes.”

She adds, “At this point, I am not feeling nervous. I do have butterflies in my stomach, but I cannot allow myself to feel scared. Growing up, I longed to be a part of the film industry, it was beyond my reach. Today, when I am doing it, I want to enjoy myself. I know fashion is really important, at Cannes films and fashion go hand in hand. It is a milestone moment. Cannes is a place where the world is shutout, there is only cinema.”