Veteran director Ketan Mehta, who is spearheading the Independent Indian Filmmakers Worldwide (IIFW) initiative, is in Cannes to promote his latest film Rang Rasiya--a period drama about the relationship between legendary painter Raja Ravi Varma and his muse starring Randeep Hooda and Nandana Sen.

"There will be no market screening of Rang Rasiya," says Mehta, "but I will unveil clips from the film at a special event on May 20."

Members of the cast will be in attendance during the promotional bash. Rang Rasiya, which also has an English version titled Colours of Passion, is set for release across India by end-June.

"We will release only the Hindi version to begin with," says the director. The global release of the English version will be done a little while later."

Thanks to the sheer size and scope of their unfolding commercial plans, major media groups like Reliance Big Entertainment, Eros International and Sahara One Media and Entertainment are all likely to be the centre of attention.

But for small, independent films, Cannes is the gateway to a world of opportunities. Nobody knows that better than Jagmohan Mundhra, a Cannes Film Market regular, who is back on the Croisette this year with Shoot on Sight, a film starring Naseeruddin Shah as a real-life Muslim Scotland yard officer

"We've already had a market screening of the film and the response has been encouraging," says Mundhra.

Mundhra, whose last film 'Provoked' starring Aishwarya Rai began its journey with a well-publicised premiere in the film market in Cannes, is hoping for a repeat show with Shoot on Sight.

Mumbai-based Vivek Singhania, the producer of Karma Crime, Passion, Reincarnation has landed in Cannes along with the film's director, M Shahjehan.

Shahjehan has spent a large part of his career as assistant director on international movies shot in India, including Richard Attenboroughs multiple Oscar-winning Gandhi.

Karma is being screened in the Cannes Film Market to prospective global buyers. "I make mainstream movies," says Singhania, whose production credits include titles like Naa Tum Jaano Na Hum and Chura Liye Hai Tumne.

"But this is a calculated risk. If Karma clicks, I will keep the experiment going," he said. Karma is a film shot entirely in India with an international cast and crew, with a Polish-German actress and model Claudia Ciesla playing a key onscreen role.