Influencer reveals how Aishwarya Rai's red carpet moments at Cannes Film Festival are crafted: ‘Whole carpet is for her’

EReally twelvemonth, as the Cannes take fete kicks away, the chatter goes beyond just films. From how long celebrities get on the red carpet and whether rules change for stars like Aishwarya Rai and Tom Cruise, to the mystery behind the iconic Cannes staircase and paid photo ops, the festival is packed with intrigue. Now, an influencer has shared some behind-the-scenes secrets from Cannes, including her encounter with Aishwarya Rai and Abhishek Bachchan.Influencer spills truth about Cannes film festOn Thursday, Beauty and wellness creator Tarini Peshawaria took to Instagram to share a reel offering a behind-the-scenes glimpse into the glamorous red carpet and other viral moments from the film festival.In the video, Tarini recalled her first experience at the festival almost 4 years ago. Her trip to the film festival was sponsored by a beauty brand“Oh and I just casually ended up in an elevator with the cast of Emily in Paris at the hotel. No. Big. Deal,” she wrote while sharing the reel where she discussed various subjects, including controlled access of the red carpet for major celebrities, paid photography arrangements, and how to get access to the grand staircase."I went to Cannes 4 years ago and here’s everything that NO ONE tells you about the film festival. The red carpet is literally 1-2 minutes long and every red carpet is not the same. Aishwarya Rai obviously had the entire red carpet to herself, followed by some of us influencers, and then when Tom Cruise came right behind us, nobody was allowed to enter the red carpet for like 10 minutes,” Tarini is heard saying in the video.There has been considerable discussion around the photographers stationed at the film festival’s red carpet, and the influencer revealed that not all of them are actually there to photograph every celebrity who walks the carpet.She adds, “And no, not every photographer there is there to click you. They don’t even know you. You actually have to pay a photographer who takes your pictures. I paid 400 euros for 7 videos and 7 photos. I know, still recovering from this. The famous Martinez hotel stairs that you see in all of these photos actually have rooms that cost about 2-3 lakh rupees a night. Luckily enough, L’Oréal sponsored this trip, otherwise my broke a** could never.” The iconic staircase poseWhen one speaks of the French Riviera, it’s impossible not to think of the iconic images of celebrities striking poses on the steps of the historic Hotel Martinez, turning the venue into their own glamorous runway.Giving an insight into what goes around in the corridors of the hotel, Tarini said, “The Martinez is buzzing with film stars and to get a picture on these stairs is practically impossible. I was probably the only person there who went there without a team and everyone around me thought that my sister-in-law and my husband who accompanied me were my team. And at one point when I couldn’t drape my saree, Manish Malhotra actually sent someone from his team to help me drape it in Cannes. I mean what!?”“And the conversations around the hotel were just bizarre. I was eating breakfast with Eva Longoria on the table right next to me and somebody would just casually talk about hiring Will Smith for their next film. But the highlight had to be meeting Abhishek Bachchan and Aishwarya Rai. They were the nicest, warmest people I’d met in the entire trip. But the one thing that I remember the most is feeling like a fly on the wall. I wasn’t sure if I belonged there, and to date, I’m still not sure if I did. Because wait, who would’ve thought that a girl from Amritsar who makes videos would one day end up in Cannes,” she said while concluding. More about Cannes 2026The 79th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is underway at the moment. The festival will culminate on May 23 with the presentation of the prestigious Palme d’Or. This year, the nine-member jury is being presided over by Park Chan-wook, the South Korean filmmaker of Oldboy and No Other Choice, who said that politics and cinema go hand in hand. Actors including Alia Bhatt, Tara Sutaria, Aditi Rao Hydari, Aishwarya Rai and Kalyani Priyadarshan, are representing India at the global festival this year.