The India Pavilion at this year’s Cannes Film Festival witnessed a star studded evening brought alive through the music of Mame Khan, performing in his Rajasthani element. The artist is the first folk musician to have performed at the Cannes Film Festival, representing Rajasthani music and culture of the nation.
Mame Khan was a part of the Indian delegation that went to the 75th Cannes Film Festival. He also became the first folk artist from India to have walked the red carpet on the French Riviera.
Talking to News18 about how he ended up at the film festival this year, the singer said, “Diageo India invited me to be a part of the Cannes delegation. It was all about representing India’s culture and art. I am from Rajasthan, I was representing not only my own music, but also the folk art and culture of Rajasthan. I felt very happy and honoured to be the first folk singer from India to walk the Cannes red carpet, alongside so many celebrities and famous personalities from India, who I have been a fan of. I was very humbled to have AR Rahman, Nawazuddin Siddiqui with me on the red carpet.”
Although the ‘Chaudhary’ singer has performed in several countries across the world, Cannes was a different experience altogether. “My first show abroad 23 years ago was in Nice, which is close to Cannes. After 23 years, I walked the red carpet at one of the biggest film festivals in the world. It was an honour for me. Then I found out before me no other folk singer from India had walked the red carpet there,” he said.
Mame Khan insists it was he who was unique on the red carpet with his traditional look. “While other celebs were wearing clothes by big designers, I was wearing a Rajasthani attire with a pagdi, jacket and pink Pathani suit. I would say I was unique at the red carpet. I was feeling quite proud. The vibe was completely different. Nawazuddin said, I can’t steal your talent, but I’ll surely steal your jacket. Everybody gave me a lot of love. The photographers didn’t know my name, but were saying, ‘Hey turban guy, turn this side.’ For them, this look was totally unique. ”
A video of him singing the ghoomar and actresses Deepika Padukone, Pooja Hegde, Urvashi Rautela and Tamannaah Bhatia dancing at the India Pavillion also went viral. Describing the moment, Mame Khan said, “That was an amazing moment. All the delegates were describing their Cannes experience. R Madhavan, Prasoon Joshi, Shekhar Kapur, they were all there. When it was my turn, I spoke about the folk music of Rajasthan, and then suddenly, one delegate asked me to sing a bit. The moment I sang Ghoomar – folk music ka ek power hai – it makes you dance. Then Deepika ji got up, and the other actresses joined her in the dance.”
