Deepika Padukone admits she wasn’t familiar with all of the Cannes jury members.

Deepika Padukone, who is part of an eight-member jury at the Cannes Film Festival 2022, has opened up about her meeting with fellow jurors.

Deepika Padukone has been a regular at the Cannes Film Festival since 2017, but this year was her first time as a jury member. Other members of the eight-person panel include Deepika Padukone, Rebecca Hall, Jasmine Trinca, Vincent Lindon, Ladj Ly, Jeff Nichols, Noomi Rapace, and Joachim Trier. Deepika admitted that, while she was familiar with the work of some of the jury members, such as Iranian filmmaker Asghar Farhadi and English actor Rebecca Hall, she had to educate herself on the work of others.

Deepika noted that the other Cannes jurors felt the same way, and the first thing they decided to do after their first meeting was to become acquainted with each other’s work. The jury is in charge of selecting one of the 21 films to receive the coveted Palme d’Or, and this year’s results will be announced at the closing ceremony on May 28. The French actor Vincent Lindon will serve as the panel’s moderator.

Deepika said in a recent interview with Variety, “I wasn’t familiar with all of them, as I wasn’t with all of the jurors. And I believe what we all discovered after our first meeting was to read up on our fellow jury members and watch some of their work. So, even if you deliberate, you understand where they’re coming from, what kind of cinema speaks to them, and so on.”

Deepika, who will celebrate her 15th year as an actor in November 2022, also stated that being invited to be a jury member at Cannes surprised her. In her opinion, the festival’s leadership is “so certain” of their reasoning for taking that step. And it makes me pause and consider whether I’ve given myself enough credit. And that’s fine because I don’t want to feel like I’ve accomplished something huge. I must be doing something right if I’ve landed here today without even realizing it.”

Meanwhile, Deepika was seen partying with Rebecca Hall on Saturday night at the film festival. Ranveer Singh, who had traveled to Cannes with his wife Deepika, was also there.

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