Relief is finally at hand. Two mega events that focus on India's two big passions — cricket and films — have finally concluded after the usual hype and hoopla. First, the Festival de Cannes wound up on May 27; then the IPL gave us a thrilling final that, inevitably, turned into a Bollywood-ised affair.

Much about the Indian media's coverage of Cannes (as the festival is popularly known) shows what is wrong with Bollywood and our media coverage of it.

This year has been a good year for Indian cinema at Cannes, but you may never have guessed why if you went by mainstream media coverage in India which, as always, was fixated on Aishwarya Rai's wardrobe.

What is simply glossed over (the most appropriate phrase in this context) is that the actress has become what is often described as “a regular at Cannes” not because of any film of hers, but because of her contract with cosmetic major L'Oreal. Put another way — because this bears repetition — this year (as with many other years) she was not representing Hindi cinema, but showcasing international fashion and cosmetics. In short, she was more or less a model at a film festival. If she showcased anything Indian, it was our fussy, overly-embellished idea of fashion, as displayed in her outfit by designers Abu Jani and Sandeep Khosla.

This is not to belittle Aishwarya's substantial achievements in Hindi cinema and the fact that she is the first Bollywood actress to make a breakthrough in mainstream Hollywood with decent roles in The Pink Panther 2 and The Last Legion . She has, at least in the past, walked the red carpet as a cast member. You could say she has earned the right to make a purely fashion outing at Cannes this year; in any case, her contractual obligations require her to do so.

But what do you make of the inordinate coverage accorded to Mallika Sherawat, who seems to have increasingly less to do with acting and films, and more with living the glam life in Hollywood? Wearing a backless gown in a nude shade on the red carpet was a smart fashion move on her part, but is anybody here even asking about her films and why and how she even walks that carpet?

As for Sonam Kapoor, another budding Cannes “regular”, she is, in any case, known more for her fashion sense than her acting prowess and is wooed by designers and fashion magazines year round.

Eclipsing the achievers

In a sidelight that would be funny if it didn't make one so angry, the ever-excellent Nawazuddin Siddiqui ( Kahaani , Peepli [Live] , Dev D ), who acts in not one but three of the Indian films to be screened this year, told a Mumbai newspaper that no designer was willing to give him a suit to wear for his outing at Cannes. In fact, he said, they did not even believe he would be at the festival.

That's because, year on year, so much attention is paid to the “regulars” that, in the popular perception, Cannes equals Aishwarya Rai and Mallika Sherawat and dissection of their wardrobes.

In depressing contrast, films, directors and actors who make it there on the strength of their cinematic work receive far less mileage in India, though the reverse holds true at Cannes. In 2010, Udaan , directed by Vikramaditya Motwane and produced by Anurag Kashyap, became the first Indian film to be selected for a screening at Cannes in seven years but was, unfortunately, in competition with Aishwarya's wardrobe.

Mercifully, this year, things changed a little. Sure, 2012 was not our best year ever at Cannes, but it was a remarkable one because four Indian films were selected to be screened by the festival: Anurag Kashyap's marathon Gangs of Wasseypur Part 1 & 2 in the Directors' Fortnight section, Ashim Ahluwalia's Miss Lovely in the Un Certain Regard section, Vasan Bala's Peddlers in the Cannes Critics Week section, Project ‘The Untold Tale' by Shivajee Chandrabhushan in the L'Atelier section. In addition there was Uday Shankar's Kalpana (1948), restored by the World Cinema Foundation, chaired by Martin Scorsese, screened in the Cannes Classics section.

None of these films were in the Official Selection, which is the heart of the festival, and where films compete for the big awards; they featured in sections that run parallel to the Official Selection. But they are prestigious all the same: being selected for any of them is recognition in itself. Besides, Peddlers was eligible to compete for the Caméra d'Or award, awarded to the best first feature film. (Previous winners have been Mira Nair for Salaam Bombay in 1998, Murali Nair for Marana Simhasanam in 1999 and Shaji N. Karun, who got a Special Mention for his Piravi in 1989.)

Producer-director Anurag Kashyap, who had a hand in producing Peddlers as well, is one of the few Bollywood film-makers who understands how Cannes functions, and seriously works at an international language for his cinema while holding on to his Indian sensibilities and soul.

As one of the key drivers of the indie film movement in India, Kashyap has given our cinema an exciting dimension that works in India as well as internationally, and does not talk glibly of “crossover cinema”, whatever that means.

Here's hoping he gets more recognition here as well as at Cannes.

SRK's day at Chepauk

Moving from Cannes to muggy Chennai for an end-note, another superstar was in focus as the Kolkata Knight Riders beat the Chennai Super Kings on a sultry Sunday night. Though KKR is owned by three partners, it amuses me to see it so often referred to as “Shah Rukh Khan's team”, sometimes even in newspapers. Clearly, there will be no complaints from his co-owners, long-time friend actress Juhi Chawla and her husband, Jay Mehta. Of course, the superstar's name helps with branding and marketing, and which other co-owner would do cartwheels right there on the ground instead of a victory lap?

Nobody would grudge SRK his delirious happiness at winning the IPL trophy after four years of defeats and humiliation. He is a man who likes to win, whose philosophy is ‘You don't win the silver, you lose the gold'. But the screen time that television coverage gave him after the victory seemed way out of proportion when compared to that given to the cricketers who actually won the match or their coach.

Matters got even more star-driven in Kolkata with Mamata- di organising a huge celebration at the Eden Gardens where over a lakh of cricket fans participated. Star power rules - from Cannes to Chepauk.

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