When Emmanuel Macron sat down with Indian filmmakers in Mumbai on Tuesday, it looked like a cultural photo-op. It was not. What followed was a direct policy conversation about independent cinema, distribution barriers, and a French funding pipeline that has quietly shaped some of India’s most celebrated films — and almost nobody is paying attention to it.
Which Bollywood Celebrities Met French President Macron in Mumbai?
French President Emmanuel Macron, accompanied by First Lady Brigitte Macron, held a special interaction with members of India’s film fraternity on Tuesday. The meeting was part of his three-day official visit to India, which began in the early hours of February 18.
The gathering brought together a strong lineup from India’s creative community. Actor and producer Richa Chadha, filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan, director Zoya Akhtar, and veteran actor Shabana Azmi were among those present. Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej also attended, along with actors Anil Kapoor and Manoj Bajpayee.
Macron shared photographs from the evening on his Instagram account. He wrote in French: “Aux côtés de légendes du cinéma indien. La culture nous rassemble” — which translates to “Alongside legends of Indian cinema. Culture unites us.” The group also gathered for photographs at the iconic Gateway of India.
What Richa Chadha Said About the Meeting With Macron
Most attendees smiled for the cameras. Richa Chadha went further.
Speaking about the interaction, she said she was “thrilled” to be part of the conversation. However, what she chose to highlight was not the prestige of the occasion. It was the funding trail that France has quietly maintained behind some of India’s finest independent films.
“I personally am very grateful for the French CNC’s contribution in my career, both as an actor and as a producer,” she said. “Because Masaan and Girls Will Be Girls were both official Indo-French Co-Productions.”
She then pointed to a third film. “Payal Kapadia’s film, which won an honour at Cannes, is also an Indo-French Co-Production. So truly, France has been a leading contributor to enhancing the quality of cinema in our parts.”
Three of India’s most internationally decorated independent films from the last decade. All three carried French co-production support. That is not coincidence. That is a pattern.
The Real Conversation: Distribution, Independent Cinema, and Bilateral Synergy
The discussion went beyond pleasantries. According to Richa, the group talked about what could be done to make independent cinema more financially viable in both nations.
She noted she was “moved by how carefully he listened to us filmmakers, and offered solutions to make synergies between both nations better, as far as cinema distribution is concerned.”
That phrase — cinema distribution — is the most important detail in her entire statement. Moreover, it is the one most outlets will overlook entirely.
A sitting French President personally engaging on the mechanics of indie film distribution is not standard diplomatic language. It suggests France views this cultural and economic corridor as genuinely strategic — not merely decorative.
France’s CNC: The Quiet Force Behind India’s Award-Winning Independent Cinema
This is the part of the story that deserves far more attention than it will likely receive.
France’s Centre National du Cinéma et de l’image animée — known as the CNC — is one of the world’s most powerful film funding institutions. It has co-financed projects across the globe for decades. However, its consistent investment specifically in Indian independent cinema has produced a remarkable track record.
Consider the evidence. Masaan (2015), directed by Neeraj Ghaywan, premiered at Cannes and won two awards in the Un Certain Regard section. Girls Will Be Girls (2024), produced by Richa Chadha and Ali Fazal, won the Audience Award at Sundance. All We Imagine As Light, directed by Payal Kapadia, won the Grand Prix at Cannes 2024 — the festival’s second-highest honour.
All three were Indo-French co-productions. Furthermore, all three reached the global festival circuit partly because French institutional backing opened doors that domestic funding structures rarely provide.
This is not a new relationship. It is, however, a deepening one — and Tuesday’s meeting suggests both sides want to formalise it further.
Macron’s Mumbai Visit: What Else Happened Before the Bollywood Meeting
The cultural meeting did not happen in isolation. Earlier on Tuesday, President Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron paid a solemn tribute to the victims of the 2008 Mumbai terror attacks. The gesture set a reflective and significant tone for the visit from its very first hours.
Following the Mumbai engagements, the delegation will travel to Delhi for the India AI Impact Summit 2026. The dual focus — culture in Mumbai, technology in Delhi — reflects the broader framework of this visit. France is positioning itself as a partner to India on two of the most consequential fronts of the decade.
Why This Meeting Could Matter for Indian Independent Cinema
Tuesday’s interaction was a signal, not a ceremony.
If the conversations in Mumbai translate into structured outcomes — easier co-production access, strengthened distribution agreements, expanded CNC investment windows for Indian filmmakers — the real beneficiaries will not be the stars who posed at the Gateway of India. They will be the next generation of Indian independent filmmakers who are still searching for a path to the global stage.
That possibility, quiet as it currently is, is worth watching closely.
