French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron met some of India’s top filmmakers and actors in Mumbai. The French President was on a three-day official visit to India, and this meeting with the stars was more like a formal engagement into an animated exchange about cinema, culture, and collaboration.
The two-hour meeting, which took place over lunch and began at 12:30 pm at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, brought together notable figures such as Zoya Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Anil Kapoor, Kabir Khan, Neeraj Ghaywan, Richa Chadha, and Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej.
As shared by PTI, the spirited discussion centred around how France and India can deepen collaboration through the film industries and expand the scope of storytelling.
Macron took to X to share photos from the meeting, captioning them, “Alongside some legends of Indian cinema Culture brings us together.”
Anil Kapoor took to X to share some moments from the meet. Sharing the pictures, the actor wrote, “Spent an inspiring afternoon with President Emmanuel Macron and his gracious better half, Brigitte exchanging thoughts on cinema, culture, and the powerful bridge between India and France. Here’s to India x France And to many more stories waiting to be told. @EmmanuelMacron @FranceinIndia @alliancefrdelhi.”
Spent an inspiring afternoon with President Emmanuel Macron and his gracious better half, Brigitte exchanging thoughts on cinema, culture, and the powerful bridge between India and France.
Here’s to India 🇮🇳 x France 🇫🇷
And to many more stories waiting to be told.… pic.twitter.com/UkNzhcKxKG— Anil Kapoor (@AnilKapoor) February 17, 2026
Ricky Kej, who was part of the French delegation, said President Macron had lunch with Indian filmmakers and actors.
“Everybody talked about how we can bring together the relationship between France and India through filmmaking, and how we can tell French stories in India and vice versa. We also discussed how we can benefit financially and make good films that cross over between the two countries,” Kej told PTI.
For Anil Kapoor, the afternoon carried a personal highlight. According to Kej, Brigitte Macron had spoken during her flight about how much she loved the 2008 Oscar-winning film “Slumdog Millionaire”.
So when Kapoor walked into the room, Kej quickly introduced them.
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“Madam Brigitte Macron was happy to meet Anil Kapoor. It was a huge coincidence, as yesterday on the plane, she was talking about how she loved the film “Slumdog Millionaire”. Today, when Anil Kapoor walked in, I immediately took him to meet her, and she was like: ‘He was there in the film’,” Kej said.
See some more photos from the meet:
Anil Kapoor told PTI, “It was encouraging to discuss how our industries, artists, and storytellers can work more closely together to build stronger cultural bridges through cinema.”
Kapoor expressed that he was “deeply touched” by the First Lady’s genuine appreciation for his work and shared, “What made the meeting especially memorable was the warmth and graciousness of his (the French President’s) wife. She was incredibly kind and generous, and I was deeply touched to hear how familiar she was with my work and how much she appreciated the international films I’ve been part of.”
Actor Richa Chadha also took to social media to share her experience of meeting President Macron. She said France has been a leading contributor to enhancing the quality of cinema.
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“We had a lively discussion on what could be done to make independent cinema more feasible in both our nations. I personally am very grateful for the French CNC’s contribution in my career, both as an actor and a producer. Two of my films, Masaan and Girls Will Be Girls were both official Indo-French co-productions,” the actor, who was conferred the title of Chevalier dans l’Ordre des Arts et des Lettres (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) in 2023 by the French government, said.
Richa Chadha too shared some photos and captioned them, “Enchante indeed! It was an honour to meet you Mr. President, @emmanuelmacron and @brigette_macron_2021. Thank you for your interest in fostering a better future for independent cinema! In the last picture, the adna sa (now-Scorsece -famous) continuity supervisor of Gangs of Wasseypur with the inimitable Satdar Khan and Nagma, now deceased.”
Kej, who flew with President Macron from Paris, said he is honoured to be part of the French delegation to India.
President Macron is in India from February 17 to 19 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the AI Impact Summit and hold bilateral discussions. This marks his fourth visit to India – and his first to Mumbai.
