An 11-member Indian delegation led by I&B Minister Anurag Thakur walked the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival in France on the inaugural day on May 17. The contingent had AR Rahman, Ricky Kej, Mame Khan, Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Nayanthara, Pooja Hegde, Tamannaah Bhatia, Vani Tripathi, Prasoon Joshi, R. Madhavan and Shekhar Kapur. India is the country of honour at the Marché du Film, the business counterpart of the Cannes Film Festival and Deepika Padukone is making the country proud in her role as a jury member. However, Manganiar singer Mame Khan from Rajasthan made history by becoming the first folk artiste to open the red carpet for an Indian contingent at Cannes.
Dressed in traditional attire , Mame Khan was also present at the inaugural ceremony of India Pavilion and made the actresses including Deepika, Pooja, Urvashi and Tamannaah dance to his tunes as he sang Rajasthani folk song Ghoomer.
Mame Khan spoke about his historic achievement and told a leading daily, “It is a proud moment to walk the red carpet for the first time at the most prestigious international film festival. I am honoured to be a part of Cannes and represent the culture and tradition Rajasthan has to offer through music and art. Godawan is the perfect representation of the Rajasthani ethos – beauty in scarcity and sustainability. The team has done a fabulous job in redefining luxury, allowing artistes like me to stand as a proud custodian of India’s culture that has enabled us to flourish.”
For the red carpet, Mame Khan wore a traditional Rajasthani costume designed by Anjuli Chakraborty which featured a magenta kurta with matching pyjama, a pair of black shoes, a heavily embroidered midnight blue jacket, floral turban and sunglasses.
It's a matter of happiness that Rajasthani singer Mame Khan ji has become the first folk artist from India to walk the red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival. It’s remarkable for Rajasthan’s rich tradition of folk music. My heartiest congratulations & best wishes to Mame Khan ji.
— Ashok Gehlot (@ashokgehlot51) May 18, 2022
Mame Khan also sings in Hindi films besides Rajasthani folk songs and has sung for films like Luck By Chance, No One Killed Jessica, Sonchiriya. He also featured on Coke Studio with Amit Trivedi.
(Source: Instagram/Indian Express)
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