The city of Saint-Tropez, in the South of France, in partnership with the Indian Embassy in France, organised Nirvana the Festival de la Culture et du Cinema Indiens, from 31 May to 2 June 2024, a festival giving pride of place to Indian cinema, music, fashion, dance, gastronomy and yoga.
In its second edition, Sylive Siri, the Mayor of Saint Tropez honoured the Indian Ambassador to France and Monaco, H. E. Jawed Ashraf with the Medal of Saint Tropez. Lord Rami Ranger of the United Kingdom and the Academy Award-nominated Indian filmmaker Ashutosh Gowariker were also bestowed with the Medal of Saint Tropez at Nirvana.
Nirvana featured screenings of the internationally acclaimed Parched by Leena Yadav, India’s latest Oscar entry, 2018 Everyone is a Hero, by Jude Anthany Joseph, Retour a Pondicherry by Raghunath Manet and Ashutosh Gowariker’s Swades starring Shah Rukh Khan. National Award-winning producer Sunita Gowariker, Cinematographer Aseem Bajaj, producer Gulab Singh Tanwar, French actor Marianne Borgo and American film distributor Marie Adler participated in the events.
An additional highlight at Nirvana was the global launch of ‘The Great Indian Genius Har Dayal’, a biography written by Dr Bhuvan Lall. The book launch took place in the presence of Pradeep Narain, the grandson of the Lala Har Dayal who spent some years of his exile in France and the island of La Martinique.
Ambassador Jawed Ashraf said, “Our vision is to make Nirvana Europe’s biggest Indian festival of cinema, culture and cuisine. This is not just about the screening of movies, but also about conversations around Indian cinema and international collaborations, especially with France. Saint Tropez is a perfect setting, as much for its magnificent beauty on the Mediterranean as for its two-centuries familial ties to India, a story in itself for an epic movie, and for the extraordinary warmth and enthusiasm with which the city supports this festival. This festival is important because cinema defines and expresses us in all our diversity and a billion-plus lives. More than anything else, it brings India to the world. At a time when the global attention is on India, and India-France ties are at an unprecedented level, cinema, together with culture and cuisine, will help place India in the hearts and minds of people around the world.”
Festival Director Dr Bhuvan Lall added, "The enthusiasm of the local population for Indian culture and our films was seen to be believed. Audiences were moved by the sounds and images of India and danced on the streets of Saint Tropez with our tunes and beats. We will enhance the festival in the next edition with many more new additions".
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