Shobhaa De Trolls Alia Bhatt For ‘Insulting’ Cannes 2026 Viral Red Carpet Moment

The glitz and glamour of the 79th Cannes Film Festival were met with a severe reality check as veteran author and columnist Shobhaa De launched a scathing critique against Indian celebrities walking the French Riviera.

In a viral commentary video, De systematically dismantled the growing presence of Indian actors and influencers on the red carpet, accusing them of prioritizing brand endorsements over authentic cinematic merit. Taking a direct aim at Alia Bhatt, whose viral red carpet clips have sparked an intense “awkwardness” debate back home, De criticized the performance-driven nature of modern-day festival appearances, labeling the collective hype as nothing more than “garam hawa” (hot air).

De Mockers Alia’s Viral Red Carpet Disconnect

The flashpoint of the controversy revolves around a widely shared clip of Alia Bhatt confidently blowing kisses, holding a structured hand fan, and waving on the carpet, while international paparazzi in the background appeared completely oblivious, keeping their lenses trained on other global stars.

Seizing on the awkward footage, Shobhaa De quipped, “I must hand it to Alia Bhatt – with no one around except her hair-and-makeup team to take her pictures. Maybe she was waving at her own team, blowing kisses to them.” De didn’t stop at her gestures, aggressively targeting Alia’s custom wardrobe styled by Rhea Kapoor dismissing her custom Tamara Ralph peach-toned bustier gown as “ill-fitted” and stating that her heavily draped, corseted Tarun Tahiliani “chinoiserie” saree at the India Pavilion failed to capture the effortless, breezy essence required for the Mediterranean climate.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Shobhaa De (@shobhaade)

The Queen vs. The Originals

In a surprising turn of events, De argued that the true purpose of Cannes has been heavily diluted by influencers pushing shampoos and cosmetics, stating that Aishwarya Rai Bachchan remains the only genuinely recognized and legitimate Indian face on that global carpet. Extolling her legacy, De crowned Aishwarya as “the ultimate queen of Cannes” despite her past eccentric style misses. However, the biggest plot twist of the review was reserved for Urvashi Rautela. While almost every major star faced De’s wrath, Urvashi escaped entirely unscathed, with the author praising her unapologetic theatricality and calling her a true “original.” Concluding her mic-drop commentary, De remarked that with the Met Gala and Cannes officially feeling hollowed out, the era of pure global red-carpet substance has drawn to a definitive close.