Nine Indians who have served on the Cannes Film Festival jury: Aishwarya to Deepika

From Mrinal Sen in 1982 to Deepika Padukone in 2022, India has been represented on the jury for 40 years

Deepika Padukone is serving on the Cannes Film Festival jury in 2022. She is the ninth Indian celebrity to do so. Photo: Getty Images

Indian film director Mrinal Sen, right, was the first Indian to serve on the Cannes jury, in 1982. Here he is accompanied by German actor Helmut Berger as he's awarded the Jury Prize for his film 'Kharij' in May 1983. Photo: AFP

Director Mira Nair was on the jury in 1990. Photo: Getty Images

Booker Prize-winning author Arundhati Roy served on the Cannes jury in 2000. Photo: AFP

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan became the first Indian actress to serve on the Cannes jury in 2003. Here she's pictured at the film festival in 2022. Photo: Getty Images

Actor, director and social activist Nandita Das served on the jury in 2005.

Actress Sharmila Tagore joined the jury in 2009. Photo: AFP

Indian filmmaker Shekhar Kapur had his turn serving on the jury in 2010. Photo: Expo 2020 Dubai

Bollywood actress Vidya Balan was the last Indian celebrity to serve on the Cannes jury before Deepika Padukone. Balan had the honour in 2013. Photo: AFP

It would be nine years before another Indian representative would be on the jury, but Deepika Padukone is representing the country in 2022. Getty Images

Deepika Padukone arguably has one of the most important jobs at the Cannes Film Festival this year.

As a member of the nine-person jury, she will be instrumental in choosing the winner of the 21 films in contention, including one for the coveted Palme d'Or.

Alongside her is veteran French actor Vincent Lindon as chairman of the jury, as well as British actress and director Rebecca Hall, Swedish actress Noomi Rapace, Italian actress and director Jasmine Trinca, Iranian director Asghar Farhadi, French director Ladj Ly, American director Jeff Nichols and Norwegian director Joachim Trier.

Scroll through the gallery below to see Deepika Padukone at Cannes 2022:

Padukone may have made history in recent weeks by becoming the first Indian to be a Louis Vuitton ambassador, but she is certainly not the first from her country to play such a significant role in Cannes.

It's been nine years since someone from India appeared on the jury, but here are eight other famous faces who have served in the past.

Mrinal Sen

Filmmaker Mrinal Sen is the man who can claim to be the first Indian jury member at Cannes. He joined the group in 1982, the year before his film Kharij won the jury prize. Other films of his to be presented in France include Ek Din Pratidin, Khandar and Genesis.

Mira Nair

Next up was notable director Mira Nair, who served on the jury in 1990. Nair has many accolades and nominations to her name, and her debut feature film Salaam Bombay!, which was nominated for the Best Foreign Language Film at the Oscars in 1988, won the Camera d'Or and Grand Prix du Publique in Cannes, alongside numerous other awards.

Arundhati Roy

Arundhati Roy may be better known for her literary prowess, having won the Booker Prize for her novel The God Of Small Things, published in 1997, but she was invited to join the Cannes film jury back in 2000. The author and activist's early career focused on screenplays and she's written for television, too.

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan

Aishwarya Rai Bachchan made her first appearance at Cannes Film Festival in 2002, where she turned heads wearing a yellow sari on the red carpet for the premiere of her multi-award-winning film Devdas, which co-starred Shah Rukh Khan. Only one year later, she was serving on the jury, becoming the first Indian actress to do so.

Scroll through the gallery above to see Aishwarya Rai at Cannes through the years.

Nandita Das

Two years after Rai, actress and filmmaker Nandita Das served as a jury member, in 2005. In 2013, the award-winning star, who's known for directing Firaaq (2008) and for starring in Fire (1996) and Bawandar (2000), joined the jury for Cinefondation, a Cannes foundation that promotes next-generation international filmmakers, as well as the short film jury.

Sharmila Tagore

Veteran actress Sharmila Tagore joined the international jury in 2009, but her career at Cannes started decades before that, when her 1960 film Devi, directed by Satyajit Ray, was screened at the festival in 1962.

Shekhar Kapur

It was Shekhar Kapur's turn in 2010. The award-winning, Bafta and Golden Globe-nominated filmmaker and actor is known for his work on Elizabeth (1998), The Four Feathers (2002) and Elizabeth: The Golden Age (2007).

Vidya Balan

It was three years before another Indian representative served on the jury, but in 2013, multi-award-winning Kahaani actress Vidya Balan was invited to join the prestigious group, the same year she made her Cannes debut.

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