Last week, Taha Shah Badussha’s appearance at the Cannes Film Festival 2024 grabbed the attention of many. While some cheered for him, others questioned what took him there. In fact, a report claimed that he was ‘seen hovering uncertainly’ on the red carpet and even signaling to ‘a photographer to click him’ and that this makes for a ‘fatally flawed’ move. For the unversed, Taha attributed his Cannes debut outing to the trailer and poster launch of his film Paro at the Bharat Pavilion.
In an exclusive chat with News18 Showsha, Taha addresses this chatter on the internet as ‘bizarre’. Reacting to the report, he says, “I don’t get the time to go on social media and check things out but I’ve so many groups and sometimes they send me screenshots. Whenever I get the time, I bounce through them. Nobody said these things about me earlier. I did some jugaad and went to IFFI last year but nobody spoke about it. What about that? What about the time when I had nothing [going on for me]?”
Clearing the air once and for all, he states that he has no qualms in admitting that he also went to the film festival to ‘network’. A self-confessed hustler, he says, “I went to Cannes to launch my film and to make contacts. So many people from America and Canada looked at me and said, ‘This guy is the star of Heeramandi but he’s acting like a newcomer’. I literally went around giving my card to people asking them to be in touch with me and watch Heeramandi.”
Taha adds, “I may not need to do this but I know where I come from. I always say that one day, you’ll find one golden person, who will change your life. Out of the 500-600 people I met in Cannes and got the numbers of, I need one person to believe in me. I’ll keep hustling. I’ll keep building relationships and putting in my hundred percent.”
Interestingly, his Cannes appearance came a few weeks post the release of Heeramandi, which has been winning him immense appreciation. The love he received at the French Riviera left him overwhelmed as well. And he’s happy to have achieved what he went to Cannes for. “I’ve opened myself up not just to India but to so many other countries like the UK. I’ve got the Ambassadors of France and Thailand on my phone. They’ve called and invited me personally,” he remarks.
As for the rest, Taha remains unbothered. “People are here to talk, so let them talk as much as they want to. In fact, I’m glad they are. At least, I’m on their minds. For me, it’s all about my honesty to my craft and my hustle. My focus is very simple – to wake up every morning and give my hundred percent to my work. The rest isn’t in my hands,” reasons the Luv Ka The End and Taj: Divided By Blood actor.
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