The red carpet at the Cannes Film Festival witnessed a bold new fashion moment as digital creator and fashion commentator Sufi Motiwala made his much-anticipated debut. Sufi embraced theatrical elegance with a look that merged contemporary Indian craftsmanship. In an exclusive chat with mid-day, he called the experience overwhelming, opened up about representing the queer Muslim community, and reacted to claims about Alia Bhatt being ignored.
Sufi on Cannes experience
Getting candid about the red-carpet experience, he shared, “The experience truly felt like I was Cinderella for a day. I felt like the most beautiful version of myself in that outfit, especially because it featured all my favourite colours. People often make it seem like a nerve-wracking and anxiety-inducing experience, but for me, it was the complete opposite. I have never felt more calm and zen on a red carpet.”
Talking about the red carpet chaos, Sufi explained, “It is crowded because so many paparazzi are standing in the same place with flashing cameras, so it can feel overwhelming. But if you know they are just there to take pictures, I feel like you can actually have a lot of fun on the red carpet. It is overwhelming, but it is not that serious for sure.”
Sufi on representing queer Muslims across the world
In a conversation with Brut, Sufi spoke about dealing with insecurities while representing the community. Explaining the same, he stated, “I know what I said is controversial, and many people may disagree with it. But growing up as a young gay boy, I never saw a queer person around me and always felt out of place. So even if my words upset many people, if there’s one young boy somewhere wondering if something is wrong with him or if his dreams will ever come true, then what I said was for him.”
Sufi also shared that if he is only speaking about fashion, then the focus should remain on his style and outfit choices. He added that nobody wants constant reminders of their insecurities circulating on the internet.
Sufi Motiwala on Anurag Kashyap’s statement
Kashyap recently spoke about how actors prioritise red carpets and looks over films at festivals. Reacting to his statement, Sufi shared, “I think if someone is only attending for the red carpet without even researching the film, then they are severely dumbfounded by the opportunity they are getting and are not experiencing it fully. The red carpet lasts barely one or two minutes, but it’s the movie inside that truly matters.”
Sufi Motiwala on Alia Bhatt getting trolled
When asked about his opinion on Alia Bhatt’s looks, Sufi rated them “10 on 10” and shared, “Honestly, I loved her Tarun Tahiliani look. The last look she did was my favourite because of the colour scheme.”
Reacting to the discourse around Alia Bhatt allegedly being ignored by photographers at Cannes, Sufi said, “You have to realise that they are French paparazzi, and they have to submit photographs while the red carpet is happening simultaneously. If you open Getty Images right now, there are hundreds of pictures of Alia Bhatt from every angle, so obviously they did click her.”
He added, “I feel like people just took one clip and ran with it, saying, ‘Oh my God, nobody cares about Alia Bhatt.’ But if nobody cared about her, the whole country wouldn’t be discussing her like this. When someone is at that level, people tend to magnify even the smallest thing against them, and I felt it was quite unnecessary.”
On a parting note, Sufi revealed that he is excited to see Aishwarya Rai Bachchan’s look on the red carpet and confirmed that she will attend the closing ceremony.