Hina Khan on not being invited to Cannes' India Pavilion inauguration: 'Elitist' attitude still exists against 'television stars'

Actor Hina Khan is back at the prestigious Cannes film festival after making her debut back in 2019. The actress is here to launch the poster of her upcoming Indo-English film, Country of Blind , directed by Rahat Kazmi. The actress recently called out the ‘elitist system’ for not being invited to the opening ceremony of the India Pavilion at Cannes 2022 .

The India Pavilion was inaugurated on the second day at Cannes by Union I&B Minister Anurag Thakur, in the presence of celebrities Deepika Padukone , Nawazuddin Siddiqui , Pooja Hegde , Tamannaah Bhatia, Urvashi Rautela , singer Mame Khan , and others. However, Hina was not invited to the event. In a recent interview with Film Companion, Hina expressed her disappointment and said an elitist attitude still existed especially against television stars such as herself.

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"You know we all belong to the same industry. We are from the entertainment business. We all have come here to represent India. And I am very excited for the launch of the poster of my film. They know I'll be coming to the India Pavilion. I will be launching the poster of my film. I was very excited then came the news of...Before that I'd like to tell you there's this elitist system, elitist game which still exists. There's the opening ceremony that happened in the Indian Pavilion. Everyone was there..all the talents, my contemporaries, not just from Bollywood, we had singers, we had many well-known talents. It's not that I envy them. I am so proud of them. But at the same time it was disheartening that I was not there." she said.

During the inauguration, Mame Khan sang Ghoomar on which Deepika along with Pooja, Tamannaah and Urvashi danced together.Talking on the sidelines of it, Hina addded, "I could have been in the audience at least cheering up for them when they were doing the ghoomar. I felt so proud of my country. I don't blame the actors or celebs but it's the people on the field who make it possible. I don't want to blame my contemporaries. We all talk about women empowerment, equality but I think it's easier said than done. Probably next year when I come to Cannes, I will be a part of it."

Meanwhile, Hina Khan shot to fame with the Star Plus television serial, Yeh Rishta Kya Kehlata Hai . After tasting success in the television industry, the actress entered Bollywood with her debut movie Hacked directed by Vikram Bhatt .