Cannes 2025 day 3 wrap: Niharika NM meets Tom Cruise, and more

Cannes 2025, Day 3, and the red carpet was practically on fire. From Bollywood royalty to digital icons, Indian stars brought the glamour, grit, and goosebump moments. And as if that was not enough, acting legend Robert De Niro dropped a powerful truth bomb to close the night. Let us rewind to the highlights first.

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Nitanshi Goel

Nitanshi Goel, of Laapataa Ladies fame, made her red carpet debut and reminded everyone what cinematic elegance looks like. Her black-and-gold embroidered gown was striking, but her second look, a dusty pink and white lehenga-saree, was pure magic. Her hair was adorned with pearls and framed portraits of Rekha, Meena Kumari, Madhubala, and Nargis, paying homage to Indian cinema’s timeless queens. It was more than a look, it was a statement.

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Niharika NM

Meanwhile, Niharika NM, internet’s favourite funny girl, casually lived everyone’s dream by posing with Tom Cruise. Yes, that happened. She posted a video with the Hollywood icon near the famous red jet set piece, with the Mission: Impossible, The Final Reckoning placard nearby. Dressed in beige with a cute dragonfly clip in her hair, Niharika shared a wholesome moment with the 62-year-old Cruise, and the internet lost its mind.

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Sakshi Sindwani

Sakshi Sindwani, repping L’Oreal, was a pastel dream in a flared baby blue gown. Despite a travel disaster (read: lost luggage at Nice airport), Sakshi showed up and spun on the red carpet like the queen she is. Fans called it the “fashion comeback of the festival.”

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Jacqueline Fernandez

Jacqueline Fernandez brought pure boss energy and was honoured under the Women in Cinema initiative by the Red Sea Film Festival. Her metallic-chain-detailed shirt dress and bold all-white looks had the crowd doing double takes. Meanwhile, veterans Anupam Kher and Shekhar Kapur unveiled the Bharat Pavilion and brought classic cinema gravitas to the festival.

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Robert De Niro

And just when you thought it could not get more powerful, Robert De Niro took the stage to accept an honorary Palme d’Or and used it to call out Donald Trump’s “assault on the arts.” Calling the arts “a threat to autocrats and fascists,” De Niro criticised Trump’s funding cuts, his takeover of the Kennedy Center, and warned against a proposed 100% tariff on foreign films. “This is not just America’s fight anymore,” he said — “it is a global one.”

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Cannes Day 3 was not just stylish, it was a movement.