Cannes 2025: Where the Red Carpet Has a Plot and the Movies Are Background Noise

 

There was a time — quaint and sepia-toned in memory — when the Cannes Film Festival was a celebration of cinema. A place where auteurs clinked glasses over existential scripts and journalists debated long takes and auteur theory. But in 2025, Cannes has fully evolved (or devolved?) into what it seems to want to be most: a luxury fashion pageant with occasional films politely shuffled in between sponsored afterparties.

Lights, Camera... Couture?

This year, the red carpet wasn’t walked — it was conquered. Not by filmmakers or actors with anything resembling a film to promote, but by a new species of Cannes attendee: the Fashion Influencer. Their natural habitat? Instagram. Their filmography? Entirely conceptual.

Among them was Nancy Tyagi, a self-made Indian fashion influencer who gained headlines for stitching her own red carpet gown — a lovely Cinderella moment, if this were a sewing competition. But it’s a film festival. Or used to be. Still, Tyagi’s painstakingly handmade dress got more press than Homebound, the emotional Indian drama that actually screened at Cannes. Because who wants generational trauma when you have hand-embroidered tulle?

And then there’s the ever-mystifying Urvashi Rautela, who showed up again in what can only be described as haute couture hallucinations — including tiaras, crocodile necklaces, and enough sparkle to blind an entire jury. As usual, no one knows what film she’s there for. We're not sure she knows what film she's there for.

Just when you thought the Cannes red carpet couldn’t get any more surreal, Ruchi Gujjar said: “Hold my rhinestoned clutch.” Stepping out in what could only be described as a couture catastrophe stitched from a fever dream and nationalistic fan art, Ruchi adorned her neckline with a necklace featuring the face of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Yes. Modi. As. Jewelry.

Because what better way to pay tribute to cinema than by treating the red carpet like a political rally crossed with a reality show elimination ceremony? The necklace  a glittering portrait pendant — looked like it had been ripped from a WhatsApp forward and bedazzled with leftover craft supplies from a third-grade school project.

Was it fashion? Was it satire? Was it a cry for attention louder than a Bhojpuri movie soundtrack on full volume? Unclear. But what it definitely wasn’t… was cinema.

The media, of course, ate it up. Headlines like “Desi Diva Brings Modi Magic to Cannes” flew across the internet faster than film critics could ask, “Wait, who is she?” The actual filmmakers, meanwhile, remained tragically invisible — possibly hiding behind a potted palm somewhere, wondering why they weren’t wearing a politician as a brooch.

The line between red carpet and red alert has officially blurred.

The Aishwarya Arc: A Fall From Grace (In Taffeta)

A few years ago, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan ruled the Cannes red carpet with regal ease. Now, she appears to be locked in an avant-garde gladiator match with her own wardrobe. 2025 saw her in a look that resembled an experimental art installation escaping from a 3D printer. While the effort is always there, the elegance has taken a sabbatical. Once cinema royalty, she now feels more like a fashion casualty at the mercy of stylists with vendettas.

What Films? Oh Right, Films!

Somewhere behind the endless flurry of chiffon, sequins, and 6-inch stilettos, a few actual films dared to make their debut:

  • Homebound, directed by Neeraj Ghaywan and starring Janhvi Kapoor, received a nine-minute standing ovation in the Un Certain Regard section. Kapoor gave a career-defining performance. Naturally, more press was given to her vintage YSL jacket and not the film that justified her presence.

  • Alpha by Julia Ducournau, a harrowing body horror film about a teenage girl with a deadly bloodborne disease, was supposed to be a headline act. Instead, the spotlight landed on Naomi Campbell’s white Grecian gown at its premiere. Because nothing says “cinematic body horror” like a well-draped hemline.

  • The Plague, Drunken Noodles, and Pillion all brought complex, bold narratives to Cannes. And yet, they received less buzz than influencer TikToks about where to find the best lighting on the Croisette.

The Great Cannes-tastrophe

Cannes 2025 wasn’t a film festival. It was a luxury-sponsored crossover episode of Project Runway and America’s Next Top Influencer. What used to be a celebration of cinematic storytelling has become a catwalk of carefully curated chaos, where film is the undercard act to fashion’s headline slot.

We no longer ask, “What did you think of the movie?” but “Who were you wearing while ignoring it?”

Until Cannes finds its way back to cinema — or at least pretends to care — we’ll be left watching an endless parade of irrelevant icons and bedazzled influencers, as the real stars of film quietly slip out the back, unnoticed and unphotographed

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