Macron soaks in Mumbai spirit

French President Emmanuel Macron is blending diplomacy with a dash of Bollywood glamour on his three-day India visit. Touching down in Mumbai with First Lady Brigitte Macron, the French leader swapped stiff protocol for star power briefly, attending a cinema-themed lunch with some of Indian cinema’s prominent names, including Anil Kapoor, Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Zoya Akhtar, Richa Chadha, Ricky Kej, Neeraj Ghaywan and Kanu Behl. He will travel to Delhi today.

Keeping the pace with Mumbai’s morning crowd Early risers at Marine Drive also got a surprise dose of diplomacy on Tuesday morning as Macron was spotted casually jogging along the Queen’s Necklace. Dressed in shorts and a T-shirt, and flanked by security personnel, the French President blended effortlessly into the city’s morning rhythm.

ANIL KAPOOR: I had a wonderful interaction with President Macron and his better half. The best part was that it was absolutely informal, warm, friendly and very productive. We had meaningful conversations about strengthening collaboration between Indo–French cinema and how two countries so rich in culture can come together to tell compelling stories. Most importantly, we spoke about encouraging storytelling that is independent and comes straight from the heart. We also discussed practical steps such as tax rebates and the possibility of creating a one-stop, single – window system to help take such collaborations forward smoothly, without delays or hurdles.

SHABANA AZMI: He was very charming and totally attentive. The fact that this is the first stop of his tour is recognition of the fact that he appreciates the power of films, not only as cultural exchange, but also as economic growth. Many initiatives were discussed, and I hope something concrete will come out of it.

RICKY KEJ: It’s great to be in the presence of such an amazing world leader like President Macron and, of course, Madame Bridget. The President and the French delegation had a beautiful lunch with the (people from) movie industry here. It was a great discussion on how India and France can cooperate to get stories of France out in India and Indian stories out in France, how we can uplift arthouse cinema in both these amazing countries and how we can do cross-cultural collaborations when it comes to the movie industry.

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