The name Paoli Dam may not strike a bell for most film buffs all over India yet. You would probably do a double take if we said that she - and not Aishwarya, Sonam or Mallika - was India's only filmstar to officially walk the red carpet at the recently- concluded Cannes film festival, in the capacity of an actor.
Dusky beauty Paoli, a rising star in Bengali films, walked the red carpet as the lead actress of Sri Lankan filmmaker Vimukthi Jayasundara's film, Chhatrak (Mushrooms). The Bengali film was officially selected to be screened in the Directors' Fortnight section at the 64th Cannes fest.
That means Paoli was the only Indian star to walk the hyped Cannes red carpet on merit and not as a brand ambassador of some international cosmetic or liquor brand, unlike Aishwarya Rai- Bachchan, Sonam Kapoor or Saif Ali Khan.
Paoli's red carpet walk stands out also for the style statement she made. While all the Bollywood beauties chose to go for western outfits - thereby ending up inconspicuous among dozens of Hollywood stars at the French Riviera - Paoli created magic in a cream Dhakai sari with red border. Her cascading hair, red bindi and a dozen red bangles on one arm completed the look. She posed on the red carpet with her Icelandic co-star Thomas Lemarquies.
"I wanted the Bong look because I was in Cannes as the heroine of a Bengali film," Paoli told Mail Today. "Moreover, designer western clothes are so common in France. Paris is a fashionable city and so many people on the streets flaunt designer labels. One had to be radically different to stand out. The sari turned out to be a USP. Nothing is sexier than a sari because it blends beauty and boldness. Photographers and the festival director called me a princess," she laughed.
Interestingly, Paoli insisted on taking her own make-up man to Cannes, although a leading French cosmetics brand, endorsed in India by Ash, was willing to provide services.
"The characters in the film don't have roots," Paoli said while speaking about Chhatrak. "It is a relationship-based film about today's Bengal.
The film had a good impact at Cannes and I think it will pave way for the screening of more Bengali films at the festival."
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