Alia Bhatt made several appearances at the Cannes Film Festival, but not all of them went down well. While she put in a lot of effort with her looks, social media users noticed that international photographers seemed to pay very little attention to her during one of her red carpet walks, and the clip quickly went viral. On top of that, well-known author and columnist Shobhaa De took a dig at Alia, claiming that the actress was simply waving at her own team and not at the crowd or photographers around her.
Shobhaa De calls out Indian celebrities at Cannes 2026
Shobhaa De did not hold back when she decided to share her thoughts on Indian celebrities at Cannes this year. She took to Instagram and posted a reel in which she gave her unfiltered take on the looks and overall presence of Indian actors at the prestigious international film festival. She accompanied the reel with a caption that pulled no punches, writing, “Sorry! This is India’s embarrassing ‘No Cannes Do’ moment.… Just for info: Most major Hollywood biggies stayed away in 2026. Just three worthy filmmakers from India were officially invited. The rest had paid their way to the Festival. Or were there as brand ambassadors.” In the reel itself, Shobhaa addressed the widespread chatter around Alia being seemingly overlooked by photographers, and made it clear that she felt the actress’s fashion choices at the festival had not worked in her favour. She opened the reel by saying, “Here is the delayed Cannes reel. As you know, there are some things that are a Cannes do, and there are a few things that are a no Cannes do. So, here are a few things I think are a no-Cannes do, especially from the Indian contingent, so desperate to make an impact on that red carpet and not quite cutting it.”
Shobhaa De on why Indian stars fail to make an impact at Cannes
De pointed out that the visuals from Cannes made it pretty clear that “our ladies have gone flat out to try and mimic something that they’re not all that comfortable doing.” She also did not shy away from addressing the harsh reality of being an Indian celebrity on an international stage, stating that one “cannot go there in, what you imagine, is amazing couture and expect anyone to take your pictures because they don’t know who you are.” Her sharpest words, however, were reserved for Alia, as she took a pointed but witty jab at the actress’s red carpet moment.“But I must hand it to Alia Bhatt with no one around except maybe her HMU (hair and makeup) team to take her pictures. Maybe she was waving at her own team, blowing kisses to them, hoping that the visuals and the optics, once they were on global Instagram, would present a slightly different picture,” Shobhaa said in her video.De went through each outfit one by one and said, “Her peachy look, it was an ill-fitting gown. Sorry, didn’t work for me. The overdrape couture that she wore for the India pavilion didn’t work for me. The nath somewhat did, but the nath has been done to death. The other carpet looks in this weather, for heaven’s sake, when it should be something much lighter, much breezier… This is overstating. Didn’t like a single look.”
Shobhaa De praises Aishwarya Rai as the only recognised Indian star at Cannes
The author admitted that Aishwarya has not always gotten her looks right at Cannes over the years, but made it clear that she is still the only Indian star who is truly known and recognised on the global stage. Shobhaa said, “I’ve had lots of problems with her looks over the years, the purple lipstick, and that hood, but at the end of the day, she’s the only recognisable and recognised star from India on that carpet. These ladies are there not for their achievements in cinema but to push and promote a range of cosmetics and shampoos”.
Shobhaa De calls Urvashi Rautela ‘lovable’, crowns Joan Collins star of Cannes 2026
She was surprisingly warm towards Urvashi Rautela, calling her “lovable” and setting her apart from the rest. When it came to picking the real star of Cannes this year, Shobhaa did not hesitate for a second and gave that title to Joan Collins, saying she was the only true “star of Cannes this year.”
Alia Bhatt’s Cannes 2026 journey and her classy reply to a troll
This year marked Alia’s second appearance at the iconic Cannes red carpet, having made her debut at the festival in 2025. The actress pulled out all the stops with her fashion choices, turning heads at every outing. She dazzled in a peach gown at the opening ceremony, made a bold statement in an ivory silk saree-gown at the Bharat Pavilion’s inaugural event, and left everyone speechless in a dreamy Cinderella-like blue gown at the screening of La Vie d’Une Femme. But it was not just her looks that grabbed attention — Alia also made headlines for the way she handled a troll on social media. When she shared a reel showing off her stunning ivory silk saree-gown look, a user left a snide comment in the comments section, writing, “What a pity, no one noticed you,” along with a laughing emoji. Rather than ignoring it, Alia fired back with calm and wit. She wrote, “Why pity love? You noticed me :).” The Cannes Film Festival, which kicked off on May 12, is set to run until May 23.
