Mahira Khan’s appearance at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival was the talk of the town and with good reason. The actor made a spectacular debut on the red carpet as the first ever brand ambassador for L’Oreal Pakistan and shone bright making Pakistan proud.
In a recent interview with Masala! UAE, the actor talked about how she took the responsibility to build an image of Pakistan at Cannes.
“Whenever we travel outside our country, we give an exposure to other countries about our country and culture. Whether it is India or Beirut, or Dubai for Masala! Awards– what we’re doing is saying, ‘look this is who we are.’ Whenever we go to another country, people there sit with us and talk to us about our films and the industry. Everything we say, therefore, helps the world see us in a more clear way.”
At the event, Mahira bonded with Hollywood’s finest and Bollywood’s best. She shared a walked the red carpet with Jane Fonda, shared a warm hug and kiss with Sonam Kapoor and discussed children with Aishwarya Rai Bachchan.
Even in her Instagram post, Mahira wrote, “It is empowering to sit with women and speak about the lines under your eyes or how fast your children are growing up.”
https://www.instagram.com/p/Bi2NSqjnWys/?hl=en&taken-by=mahirahkhan
What was Mahira’s big takeaway from the event, apart from her obviously being Pakistan’s brand ambassador from L’Oreal and representing the country in a positive way?
“The takeaway was that I made a drop in the ocean. All the people there that I met, knew I was Pakistani and now if they ever go and talk to someone about us, they’ll say, ‘Hey, yeah. I’ve had a good experience working with people from Pakistan!’ And when someone sees my profile, they’ll also be lead and redirected to other profiles from Pakistan.”
Cannes was also a way for Mahira to showcase Pakistani talent and art on the international forum as Mahira wore Pakistani designers Elan and Menahil and Mehreen during her stay there.
On whether Mahira sees herself as brand Pakistan in the future, the actor commented, “We, as a country, as brand Pakistan, are a melting pot of many opinions, representations, communities and people who are trying to make our country better each day.”
“Whether it’s artists, actors, directors – whoever it may be – whatever it may be – we’re all doing our part to try and make Pakistan a better place. And that’s who we truly are. We mustn’t ‘create’ images, I feel. And we can’t sell lies. We must be true to who we are.”
