It was a big moment for all of us when Hina Khan made her Cannes Film Festival debut in 2019. She gave us some head-turning looks, carried herself with utmost elan, and made the country proud. However, Hina had a shocking revelation to make after her return to India and shared how desi designers discriminated against her just because she started her career on television. When we heard that the actress will be making it to Cannes this year as well, we were expecting things to be better. Hina, after all, had proved her mettle. But guess what? The situation has not improved much and Helly Shah has now opened up about how she had to face the same ordeal.
The Swaragini actor made her Cannes debut this year and left everyone impressed with her film festival inning. Helly is now back in India and just shared how sourcing costumes became a task for her just because she is not a big Bollywood name. She shared, “We reached out to all Indian designers almost a month before the scheduled Cannes red carpet walk. Earlier, they said that they would share but when my manager tried reaching out to the designers closer to the date, everyone started saying ‘Oh, we can’t do it’ or were unresponsive.”
Helly further shared that she wanted to represent Indian designers but all of them declined to dress her except Shantanu and Nikhil. “Only Shantanu and Nikhil were kind enough to share two outfits of theirs without any conditions. Because I was representing an Indian film at Cannes, I wanted to be sure of wearing an Indian ensemble for my debut, but the response was disappointing. I am thankful to Shantanu and Nikhil for taking care of my ensemble. It looked stunning, and I received many compliments for the same. It was not less than a red-carpet look,” she added.
Here, take a look at the Shantanu & Nikhil outfit that she wore in Cannes:
Earlier, Hina had also expressed her disappointment at the fact that she wasn’t invited to the Cannes opening ceremony in the Indian pavilion this year despite being present in the French Riviera town. All of this, after the actress has established a name and has never disappointed on international red carpets. The Indian film and Fashion fraternity’s oblivion towards TV actors is heart-breaking. They deserve to be supported as much as any other big Bollywood name who is representing the country at international events. Here’s hoping that Helly and Hina’s revelations jolt them to make a change.
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