Filmmaker Ashim Ahluwalia, whose film Miss Lovely has been selected for the 65th Cannes International film festival that begins on May 16, says Bollywood is far from reality. And, he’ll never be part of it.

“I don’t relate to Bollywood because for me it does not reflect our country or the
way we live. Also, I feel Indian films don’t go global as we make films only for ourselves and play safe,” says Ahluwalia, whose film will be screened in France as part of the Un Certain Regard section, which showcases movies with different visions and styles. Other Indian films at the Cannes this year include filmmaker Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur, which will be screened at the Directors’ Fortnight section, while Vasan Bala’s debut film, Peddlers will figure in the Critics’ Week.

Set in the mid 80s, Miss Lovely, starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, Niharika Singh and Anil George, is about two brothers who make C-grade horror films in Mumbai, and eventually fall in love with the same woman. “I am happy that it is not a song-and-dance film as is expected of Indian films, yet it is very Indian,” says the 40-year-old filmmaker, who is now headed to Berlin to finish the film’s post-production. “The film was selected even though the jury only saw the rough cut,” he says. And when does he plan to release his film in India? “I want to show the film in India but knowing the way our distributors operate, and their singular interest in stars, it looks difficult,” says Ahluwalia.