Ray's 'Devi' is one of my all time fave films: Louboutin

Ace French footwear designer Christian Louboutin today remembered his first brush with Indian cinema and his chance encounter with iconic filmmaker Satyajit Ray, whose Bengali drama "Devi" is one of his all-time favourite films.
"I was 16 and I wanted to go to India as I was interested in cinema. I remember the first Indian director I met was Satyajit Ray. I saw his film 'Devi'. A friend dragged me to see the film. I was tight, I had hangover of the last night," Louboutin said at a panel discussion at the 18th Jio MAMI festival here.
"I saw the film and I liked it. I had no idea what I am going to see but it (film) was fantastic. Then in the end Satyajit Ray was in a room... Some questions were asked. It was quite fascinating. It was a beautiful moment. 'Devi' is my all time favourite film. Seeing this film was one of my biggest moments in Indian cinema," he said.

Filmmaker Karan Johar, who was moderating the event, expressed his happiness over Louboutin's revelations.
"He got to be in a same room with him (Ray) which is great. It was a spectacular thing. We all would have died to be there," Karan said.
Besides, Louboutin has also seen films of Guru Dutt. The French fashion designer also got opportunity to act in a film during his visit to India.

"I was supposed to go see studios here and I landed in Madras along with a friend. I managed to get into a studio. The shoot was going on and I was asked to sell ice cream in the film. So, I did that. I don't know what happened to this film and that historical scene," he said.

The very first film that Louboutin saw was Mehboob Khan's 1952 film "Aan" (1953). It is also one of Louboutin's all-time favourite films.
"I found the Indian film posters fascinating. I did see 'Aan' in a theatre in France that used to screen Indian films. I immediately fell in love with the film, the story, songs, the actors, Dilip Kumar, Nimmi," he added.
The 52-year-old designer, who is a Bollywood enthusiast, stunned everyone when he hummed a few lines of hit number "Laila O Laila" from "Qurbaani".
Louboutin, who is known for his trademark red-lacquered soles in shoes, said, "Fashion is a tool of communication to engage a conversation. I feel flattered when people like my stuff.