She said watching the Devdas actor on the red carpet made her want to do it too.
Actor Huma Qureshi spoke about Aishwarya Rai Bachchan's long association with the Cannes Film Festival.
She recalled how the Devdas actor's red carpet appearances inspired her to do the same one day and said she made international film festivals matter more to Indian audiences and actors.
Huma also said her saree look at this year’s festival, was inspired by Aishwarya’s appearance at the premiere of Devdas (2002).
The actor, who first came to Cannes with Gangs of Wasseypur (2012), was speaking at the Cannes Film Festival during the Red Sea Film Foundation’s Women in Cinema gala.
During a conversation with journalist Sucharita Tyagi, Huma recalled how closely she followed Aishwarya’s Cannes appearances in earlier years.
She said, “I used to watch Aishwarya coming over here and doing her red carpet moments.
I swear, ever since that, I was like ‘I want to do this once’.”.
Huma also spoke about her outfit choice and linked it to one of Aishwarya’s best-known Cannes moments.
Referring to Devdas, which premiered at Cannes in 2002, she said, “My saree look is a homage to her Devdas look,” before adding with a laugh, “I just made that up right now.” Aishwarya had attended that premiere with Shah Rukh Khan and director Sanjay Leela Bhansali.
When Shah Rukh Khan, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and Sanjay Leela Bhansali visited Cannes film festival for the promotion of Devdas (2002) pic.twitter.com/8K94PeI0jt— Movies N Memories (@BombayBasanti) May 14, 2026.
“She’s really sort of made these festivals so important,” Huma added.
