Ready. Steady. Cannes!

Festival de Cannes kicked off a day prior with 1,845 films submitted for 2019’s official selection. As film critic Anupama Chopra pointed out, no Indian film made it to the list. In fact, not a single Indian film in the last 25 years, since Swaham in 1994.

A sobering thought.

Sobering thought as @Festival_Cannes kicks off - 1845 films were submitted to the 2019 official selection. No Indian film made it. And it's been 25 years since an Indian film got into the main competition - the last one was Swaham in 1994. What's wrong? #genuinequestion — Anupama Chopra (@anupamachopra) May 14, 2019

Whether or not Indian films make the cut though, Indian celebs will definitely walk the red carpet — with all eyes on Sonam Kapoor, who’s expected to speak on the 20th on Indian cinema, Deepika Padukone, Kangana Ranaut, Priyanka Chopra, Aishwarya Rai Bachchan and more.

Par yeh kya? Mallika Sherawat is already there?

Mallika Sherawat, the Indian actor known for her ‘wet lip’ and her jalebi-making skills — among others — shared a prep video of herself, getting ready for the event. This, along with a throwback post of her appearance last year, where she is seen waving at fans gathered behind the steel railings.

Those railings serve a purpose — they separate the real from the magical, the everyday from the dreamy celluloid, the fans from the stars.

Except we’re not sure what credentials brought Mallika to this side of the fence.

Mallika was last seen in Zeenat in 2018. We know why you’re squinting your eyebrows. The film blew away like a breeze — without so much as blowing off a candle. Yet, Mallika is a constant at Cannes.

Why, oh why?

She did land an invite to the festival for herself when she was working with Jackie Chan in the movie, The Myth — waaaay back in 2005. We didn’t know a Cannes invite was valid for over a decade!

Currently, Mallika has announced her next — Saali Khushi — a comedy-drama movie, and we’re expecting the television series Booo: Sabki Phategi to drop any moment now.

BUT surely none of these can earn a Cannes invite?

So, why is Mallika Sherawat at Cannes?

The above is not our question — Google completed it for us. Swear!

Twitterati are equally bewildered to see Mallika twirl in a powder-blue Tony Ward couture gown. Some thought Cannes is simply an annual event to remind us about Mallika Sherawat!

Well, we’re not ruling that possibility out. But we’re still crowd-sourcing for answers. Tell us please — why you think Mallika Sherawat is at Cannes?

Also read: Priyanka Chopra at the Met Gala: PeeCee causes shockwaves, but hey trolls, this is cutting-edge fashion, not your local shaadi!