A video of Alia Bhatt from the Cannes Film Festival 2026 has gone viral after the Indian actress appeared to be “ignored” by photographers at the event.
The 79th installment of the iconic film festival is taking place from May 12 to May 23 at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès in Cannes, France. It is presided over by South Korean filmmaker Park Chan-wook, of Old Boy and The Handmaiden fame.
Highlights
- Indian actress Alia Bhatt went viral after her Cannes 2026 red-carpet appearance, as netizens claimed she was being “ignored” by photographers.
- Many compared her with fellow Hindi movie star Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, a Cannes veteran who was snubbed by L'Oréal Paris this year.
- Bhatt previously admitted that her team and other attendees could not recognize her at the 2026 Milan Fashion Week.
Bhatt, 33, has appeared in more than 25 Indian movies and featured in Netflix’s 2023 movie Heart of Stone alongside Gal Gadot and Jamie Dornan. She is attending Cannes as a global brand ambassador for L'Oréal Paris.
“She is embarrassing India at the international level,” one user said about her alleged faux pas moment on the Cannes red carpet.
Alia Bhatt trolled for waving at allegedly “uninterested” photographers at Cannes
Image credits: aliaabhatt/Instagram
Making her second Cannes appearance this year, Alia Bhatt stepped out on the second day of the film festival in a coral silk crêpe marocain corseted column dress by designer Tamara Ralph.
The viral clip showed different moments of Bhatt’s red carpet walk stitched together.
In one, she was waving at the photographers. The video's angle did not reveal the reactions of those she greeted. It captured only the photographers who were farther from her and were busy taking pictures of someone else.
In another, the photographers in the front row seemed not to notice when she posed, but a few in the back aimed their cameras at her.
Image credits: Mayapuri Cut/Youtube
The caption of the clip, shared by “Neeche Se Topper” on X, mocked Bhatt for her red carpet moment.
“So embarrassing, man,” it read. “Cannes is a global movie stage, and this is her 2nd appearance, yet nobody knows her; no pap flashed a single camera at her. Who is she waving at? None looks interested. Serious aura deficit!”
“Literally no one is even looking at her,” one user commented. Another said, “She was trying so hard but failed.”
Image credits: SFabuloi
Image credits: Gemma88451511
However, some defended Bhatt, arguing that she was a renowned artist in her country and was representing it well.
“Who cares if photographers are clicking her or not? She is representing Indian artists, so chill,” one said. Another wrote, “Just because other countries’ paps don't go crazy like the Indian ones, that doesn't imply someone's not famous.”
Netizens compared Alia Bhatt with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s Cannes “aura”
Image credits: Mayapuri Cut/Youtube
Many viewers claimed that Alia Bhatt was receiving far less attention on the red carpet at Cannes than Aishwarya Rai Bachchan, another Indian actress who has represented India globally for more than two decades.
Rai Bachchan, 52, who has starred in leading roles in movies such as Bride and Prejudice and The Pink Panther 2, became the first Indian actress to serve on the jury at the Cannes Film Festival in 2003. That same year, she was appointed as a global ambassador for L'Oréal Paris.
This year, the brand omitted her from their Cannes line-up, which featured Bhatt alongside Helen Mirren, Viola Davis, and other stars. The detail drew significant backlash online, especially among Indian netizens, and the outrage intensified after Bhatt’s video went viral.
“Alia Bhatt at Cannes can try, but will never be what Queen Aishwarya Rai at Cannes was,” one said. “Aishwarya Rai is what Alia Bhatt pretends to be,” another wrote.
Image credits: ChykrPrasun
Image credits: Mayapuri Cut/Youtube
In response to online criticism, L'Oréal Paris called Rai Bachchan “timeless and completely herself” under their lineup reveal. In another comment, the brand said, “Year after year, Cannes after Cannes. She never misses.”
However, users were not satisfied with the responses, and many speculated that they were “AI-generated.”
Alia Bhatt previously said she was not recognized at Milan Fashion Week
Image credits: Mayapuri Cut/Youtube
In February 2026, Alia Bhatt attended the debut runway show of Gucci’s new creative director, Demna Gvasalia, at Milan Fashion Week, as the Italian haute couture house’s first Indian global ambassador.
She attended the event in a sleek, all-black Gucci ensemble, featuring a glossy leather coat dress, silver hoop earrings, gelled-back hair, a structured Gucci horsebit handbag, pointed heels, and oversized sunglasses.
Image credits: anitach12276032
Image credits: Amit_Raghuvansh
Afterward, Bhatt shared her opinions in her car on the way back, gushing about Kate Moss ending the show. She also revealed that people had difficulty recognizing her because of one of her accessories, which went viral.
“Nobody was recognizing me because of my glasses — our whole Gucci team,” she admitted, adding that they could identify her once she took off the shades.
Bhatt made headlines for her 2026 BAFTA appearance as well, where she wore a silver sequinned Gucci gown and presented the Best Film Not in the English Language award to Joachim Trier for Sentimental Value.
Before announcing the winner, she began her greeting in Hindi, in keeping with the category, which earned a warm reception online.
"Cameras are on airplane mode." The internet trolled Alia Bhatt for her awkward moment on the Cannes red carpet
Image credits: NeecheSeTopper
Image credits: anitach12276032
Image credits: aria_na130303
Image credits: woke_indian_
Image credits: Weltschmerz_07
Image credits: redandwhite2026
Image credits: DeeJaja88
Image credits: karthika_gm
Image credits: itsshreyanshh
Image credits: munumagic
Image credits: unheardsto42915
Image credits: Rj9222
Image credits: bolindiapol
Image credits: G75_08M