Chhaya Kadam returns to Cannes: 'This city and its people feel like our own'

Acclaimed actor Chhaya Kadam is back at the Cannes Film Festival in 2025, marking her return with heartfelt reflections and a deepening sense of belonging. Sharing her thoughts on social media on the festival’s opening day, Kadam posted a moving note in Marathi that captured her evolving relationship with the prestigious event and the city that hosts it."This is the first day of the Cannes Film Festival in 2025. Exactly on this day last year was my first day in Cannes. I was acting like a newcomer then. Some things were unnecessarily suppressed. But I had enjoyed that too," she wrote, candidly recalling her debut appearance at the festival in 2024.Known for her powerful performances and grounded persona, Kadam expressed a growing comfort with the festival and its atmosphere. “This is the place this year — this city and the people we meet here are ours. Along the streets — it feels like an old acquaintance, with people in colourful clothes,” she added.Her reflections beautifully traced an emotional journey from feeling like an outsider to embracing Cannes as a familiar and almost familial space. “The families that were formed during last year’s Cannes Festival seem to be expanding even more this year,” she noted, hinting at deepening friendships and creative collaborations.Kadam also expressed her excitement about the screening of her film Snow Flower, scheduled for the day. “Now excited for today's screening of mine — and of course ourSnow Flower,” she wrote, signing off with quiet pride and shared anticipation.