live from berlin. russia says it's now taken full control of the steellant, after ukrainian officials ordered the less remaining defenders to surrender to save their lives. also on the program -- the former german chancellor, finally cutting ties to russia's state-owned oil company. he was facing the threat of eu sanctions over his ties to the kremlin. and spiking fuel costs

spur creativity. we hear from one german woman who decided to leave her car parked in exchange for a less expensive transport. ♪ >> i'm phil gayle. welcome to the program. russia says it is now in full control of the steelworks in mariupol. ukrainian soldiers that held onto the plant despite being surrounded by russian forces and facing constant bombardment. they were ordered to surrender, hoping it would save their lives. reporter: they've been evacuating for days, but the siege of the symbolic battlegrounds appears to be finally over. in a video released, the commander of the battalion says they have been ordered to abandon the defensive mariupol.

>> our commanders have given the order to save the lives of the men and to abandon the defense of the city. work is underway to bring the bodies of the killed fighters out, so that ukraine can bury its heroes. porter: defense experts fear they will -- there will now likely be a relocating of russian forces. troops in mariupol could now support the offensive in other parts of ukraine. we are the russian assault is continuing in full force. russian state television broadcast images of an offensive. ukrainian president volodymyr zelenskyy zelenskyy says bombardment of the region has been brutal. >> this is a deliberate and criminal attempt to kill as many ukrainians as possible. to destroy as many homes, social institutio, and businesses as possible. this is genocide of the ukrainian people, and the occupiers will be held

acuntable and brought to justice. reporter: the governor of the region, which is still under ukrainian control, has reported further attacks where more people have been killed. phil: our dw correspondant is in a city in the donbass region, about 50 km from the fighting. i asked him for an update on the situation in the city. reporter: well, it is already past curfew. now i am in the backyard of my hotel. the city is eerily quiet. today during the daytime, we had never seen more than -- we have never seen more than three or more people on the street. usually you see no one. most of the people have left the city because it is the administrative center of the donbas region. there were of course expectations that something might happen here. the city has been hit by rockets

before. there was an attack on the railway station in the beginning of april. many civilians were trying -- many civilians trying to flee the city died. fighting is going on mostly northeast of here. in another administrative center in this region. shelling in the area is heavy. people die every day. much of the city has already been destroyed. phil: right. both sides now, ukraine and russia, have now confirmed the steel plant is in russian hands. what are you hearing? reporter: yeah, it is what i have been hearing as well. of course, the battalion's commander has released a message today, where they have said that they have had the order to give up and save their lives. not to continue fighting under these conditions, where they cannot win anything and they cannot get out, there is nothing

they can do, just basically hold on until they die there. so they've been given the order to give up, which means to surrender to the russians. russia has now said that all of those who remain, 500 had surrendered. that's what we've been hearing before. phil: i know you are in -- were in kharkiv earlier. where troops have been driven back from the outskirts of the city. we will take a look at your report and come back to you. reporter: they came here, and now they don't want to leave. people who have been living in the subway station, petitioning the government to let them stay. subway stations here have been serving as bomb shelters, since the beginning of the war. she and her husband have been living here since the very first day. >> i go home every three weeks.

but i always need to prepare myself mentally, before i can go. then i run home and take a bath. we can wash here, but the conditions are not ideal. reporter: others do not have a choice. they do not have a place to go back to anymore. >> this station is the terminal station of the metro line, the northernmost station in the city. it is closest to the front line. answer those areas that have been most heavily shelled. reporter: the shelling of the city has all but subsided. and the local government wants to get the subway system running again. it wants the people to leave the metro, and is offering to relocate them. but many here do not trust the p eace. >> i do go out on the streets sometimes. but the fear is always there. it's not that easy. we need time to overcome it.

reporter: around the subway station, many of the houses have been destroyed. some streets -- in some streets, barely a house has been untouched. olga spent the last months in assembly. a study first time she has come back to -- it is the first time she has come back to the apartment she used to live in with her mother and her son. she was told that there was damage, but she didn't know how bad it was. it is terrible. the shell hit a wall in one of the rooms. there is debris everywhere. she documents everything. people can report the damage on the government website, but nobody knows how long it will take to get any support.

>> my knees are shaking. i still can't believe it. i knew that the windows were broken. if only that shell hadn't hit. if there wasn't this hole in the wall, we might still somehow move back. the house is still standing. but this is different. reporter: for now, the only thing to do is to collect some of their belongings. they will not move back to the subway, but to a relative's house. phil: some distressing personal stories there. what sort of state is the city in? >> -- reporter: well, it depends on where you are in the city. so these northern suburbs. this house where she was standing, it is the last house on the border of the town. just behind, we could look out of the window, you see fields and villages, occupied by the

russians. we were just able to see everything would hit one of these houses because it was so close. and these areas are basically -- i don't know, if they were -- if they will ever be inhabited. it will be impossible to live there for most houses. they are severely damaged. there were a few rocket hits at the center. you see the city is wounded wherever you walk. life is really returning slowly to the city. much lower than in kyiv. where the troops were driven back from the border. basically life was returning already. but here, it is different, because the fighting is still ongoing, it is further from the city, the shells do not hit the city anymore, but it is still ongoing, so people are much more careful to go back. many shops are still closed. it takes time for people to readjusted the situation.

phil: thank you. we can talk to a political analyst and advisor to the ukrainian government and military. she joins us from kyiv. thank you. why do you think the orders for them to surrender were given? reporter: first of all, the soldiers in the plant accomplish their mission, they fought fiercely and selflessly. they used everything up to the last ammunition. they did everying possible to evacuate civilians, wounded civilians. and the wounded military. so, if they did this task, it means there was no other choice for them. ukraine perceives them as

heroes. phil: understood, but i suppose given the information that's been coming out over the last few days, one wonders, why today, why not yesterday? >> why today? because the situation was changing every day, i think. it was their decision. at that moment, it felt right. phil: forgive me for interrupting you. i just want typically with what you said, you said this was the decision of the steel plant soldiers, rather than them responded to -- responding to orders. porter: it was a joint decision, obviously, the main goal was to save lives. for many of them, it was one possible way to do it. phil: understood. what do you think happens to them now? a talk of prisoner -- the talk of a prisoner swap seems to have down.

reporter: we do not ow for sure what is happening to them. there's a lot of misinformation on the issue. and details of the negotiations are not disclosed. i think it is going to be another opportunity for us and for the whole world to see whether russia is sticking to the agreements. so far, history has shown that russia alwaysiolates any agreements. phil: as far as you understand, those talks about the prisoner swap are still going on. reporter: yes. we keep hearing this. but we also observed a lot of information, especially on russians prosecuting them. we do not have a clear vision of what is going to happen. phil: the fear is that troops will be deployed to step up the assault on the donbass region. what is your feeling?

reporter: i think the demand of the russian troops in that area was not very significant, so if they are deployed to other parts of eastern ukraine, it is not going to change the whole situation. phil: understood. thank you so much for joining us. advisor to the ukrainian government. thank you. >> thank you. phil: some other developments in the war, starting in germany, where the defense ministry says it will deliver the first of its 15 cheetah anti-air tanks to ukraine in july. kyiv has been pading for more heavy weaponry t battle russian troops in the east. the accused germany of taking too long to deliver military aid. several people have been injured in a rush and strike on a ukrainian culture center. president zelenskyy released the surveillance footage of the attack on the town in the

eastern region. he says russian forces deliberately targeted the center. ukraine has accused a of routinely striking civilian targets. german chancellor olaf scholz says qatar will play a central role in his country's plans to cut its dependence on russian gas. after talks in berlin, the chancellor said germany would construct infrastructure to import liquefied natural gas by ship. qatar wants to start sending lng budget -- to germany by 2024. one of germany's former chancellor's has resigned from the board of russia's state oil company. he was facing mounting criticism over his ties to russia. this week, the european parliament called for him to face sanctions, if he didn't quit. he's also a longtime friend of vladimir putin. our political correspondent,

simon young, reports. reporter: for years, he is been criticized for his closeness to russian interests. some called him the kremlin's chief lobbyist in germany. he has refused to criticize the invasion of ukraine. he played down crimes committed by russian forces. the party that schroder once led, many felt his views were an acceptable. there were calls f him to leave voluntarily or face expulsion. the chancellor, adding to the pressure. >> one more thing is important to me if i may add, it would be best if schroder resigned from his post. reporter: he has never made a secret of his friendship with vladimir putin. while he was chancellor, from 1998 to 2005, he signed the deal to bring russian gas to germany via the nord stream pipeline to the baltic sea. and he raised eyebrows by referring to the russian leader

as a flawless democrat. soon after leaving office, he accepted a job with russian energy company gas from. he later became chairman of the supervisory board of another russian oil giant. is also on the board of the nordstrom operating company. he cld be down to a margin in the european parliament. he could face sanctions, including asset freezes. maybe the decision by the bundestag to withdraw privileges such as a fully staffed office, forcing the x chancellor to think again. whatever the truth, may be say his support for putin has tarnished germany's reputation and that damage cannot easily be undone. phil: our report from simon young, i spoke to him a little earlier and asked him what he thought why it had taken schroder

so long to act. reporter: he has clearly stuck with vladimir putin. his close friend, as he says, for a long time. he stuck with his belief, that germany should have close energy lengths with russia. and he said that he doesn't do mea culpas, he's not willing to modify his position. despite the calls for him to do that, as mentioned, i think now the heat has been turned up on him, particularly by this decision by the bundestag, to close down his office, remove that sort of privilege that is accorded to former chancellors. and al by this call from t european parliament that he should be treated like a russian oligarch, placed on a list of people who could face sanctions, if he didn't step back from his role with the russian energy

company. so the pressure has been mounting, within his own party. more and more people saying, it is time for him to leave the party, and indeed time for him to do the right thing. and so, perhaps he's finally been notched in that direction. phil: he said he would only go if russia turned off its gas supply to germany -- so should we read anything into the fact that he's going now? reporter: yeah, will of course, it is the other way around, isn't it? europe is reducing its dependency on russian gas. before the war, germany was getting more than half of its gas supply from russia. now, that number is falling. the nord stream pipeline has been muffled, the government's plan is to end

any russian gas supply to germany. he may have once been an effective salesman for russian energy in germany, schroder. but now not so much. phil: it has always been said to be about engagement and democracy, but his ties it seemed to be more about personal gain. reporter: that's right. is reported to have been -- he is reported to have been earning millions of euros per year. . he's been doing this lobbying work. it was possible to lobby for russian energy, but i think his ties with russia are deep. he says the friendship with vladimir putin is genuine. just of late, his remarks about the responsibility for the war in ukraine lying on both sides and his attempts to sort of play down russian crimes in

ukraine, i think that's really crossed a redline for many people, and his reputation is in an all-time low. phil: thank you for that, simon. political correspondent simon young. president biden's begun his first presidential trip to asia and south korea. the five-day visit is intended to counter chinese influence and summoned u.s. leadership in the region. he toured a samsung semiconductor plant upon landing with his new south korean counterpart. reporter: after stepping out into the south korean sun, biden's first stop was clearly intended to demonstrate the depth of the technological cooperation between the two allies. as soon as the greetings were out of the way at the u.s. airbase, the president sped off to samsung's nearby semiconductor plant. his new south korean counterpart was waiting to greet him.

the two leaders then set off on a tour of the plans, the largest of its kind in the world. according to biden, the vast facility will serve as a model for $17 billion factory -- $17 billion factory samsung is planning on texas. boosting the production of computer chips in the plant is a key goal of the president. as he stressed at the end of his visit. >> the global semiconductor shortage has caused a shortfall in consumer goods. especially automobiles. it's contributed to higher prices around the world. and now, putin's brutal and unprovoked war in ukraine has further spotlighted the need to secure our critical supply chains, so that our economy, our economic, and our national security are not dependent on countries that do not share our values. reporter: he also made clear his belief in the indo pacific's future importance. >> so much of the future of the

world is going to be written here. in the indo pacific over the next several decades. we are standing in and inflection point in history where the decisions we make today will have far-reaching impact on the world we live to our children tomorrow. reporter: for a bite those decisions may well include how to react to a provocation from north korea. u.s. intelligence has warned the north may carry out a nuclear test during the president's visit to asia. phil: here rare tornado struck parts of western germany this afternoon, injuring dozens of people and causing severe damage. it tore through the city. police say between 30 and 40 people were injured. 10 of them seriously. heavy damage was also reported in the nearby town -- a nearby town. large parts of germany remain on

alert for more severe weather. the women's champions league final is nearly upon us. the competition's most successful club, facing titleholders barcelona. the road to italy has seen the women's game blossom like never before. as fans turn out in droves. reporter: champions league holders barcelona shattered the world record attendance for women's football at the semi final stage this year with over 91,000 to watch their idols play germany. one of the players they came to see was the four-time african footballer of the year. the nigerian has come a long way. once banned from playing football by her parents without the support unsuitable for her daughter, she was part of last year's champions league winning site, and now wants to repeat that incredible experience. >> if u feel like you have

everything in the world. it's just like you have the most beautifurophy, right in your presence. you can kiss it, you can do whatever you want with it, it is a reward of hard work. reporter: they humiliated barcelona 4-1. a harsh lesson. >> that was like a good defeats for us. it opened her eyes and see what we could improve as a team. we need to play more together and stay together more. we need to improve on our defensive activities. reporter: she was one of the players who laid bare barcelona's deficient -- deficiencies three years ago. now the record score is back on the team. as they look to make eight titles since 2011. they have also enjoyed a backing from the fans. and now, they will be hoping for more of the same, on what promises to be a memorle night

in turin. phil: food and fuel prices have spiked since russia invaded ukraine. the increased costs are causing some people to get creative and rethink some of their typical daily activities. one woman in germany has decided to leave her car at home, opting for an alternative mode of transport. reporter: it is the morning commute. but not as you know it. with fuel prices spiraling, the 33-year-old, stephanie, decided to opt for a cheaper mode of transport. giving up her suv, and traveling the old-fashioned way instead. >> i no longer use my toyota, which only gives me 17 miles per gallon, or even less when i transport things. so, if i manage to ride the horse every day, then i save about 250 euros each month on

fuel. reporter: she admits her choice of transport is not popular with motorists. but delights the kids and the local village. and although she is able to make the 6 km journey to work, stephanie accepts, it's not ideal for traveling more widely. >> you cannot just put a horse in a parking garage. it would be nice. i think a lot more people would use horses and for places accommodated them. but i don't think society is ready for that. reporter: with no sign of the fuel crisis abating, for now, stephanie is determined to stay away from her for wheels and travel on four hooves instead. phil: a reminder of our top story this hour -- russia says it's now in full control of the steelworks plant

in mariupol after the government ordered the remaining troops there to surrender. the move is aimed at saving the lives of the fighters, hailed as heroes across ukraine. there is great concern over how russia will treat them. this is dw news. i will be back in a moment to take you through "the day," looking at whether russia is deliberately causing food shortages, in order to try and win its war. that is with me on "the day," in just a moment. ♪ [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org]

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"france 24" and france24.com. ♪ anchor: hello and welcome to "france 24." the headlines, a new fringe cabinet ahead of parliamentary elections in june. a career diplomat is said to become france's next foreign minister. the steel plant in mariupol has been totally liberated. they four of the film festival wraps up. we have the latest from the competition in this edition.

french president emmanuel macron has reshuffled his cabinet in the run-up up to parliamentary elections in june. the announcement comes after elizabeth born was named prime minister. the justice, interior, and finance ministry remains the same, but new faces will take the helmet the foreign and education ministries. we have this report. reporter: weeks on from presidential elections, france's new government has been revealed. he has retained the confidence of emmanuel macron at the ministry of economy and finance. the same person stays on his interior minister, but there was change. the biggest surprise was the new

minister of europe in foreign affairs. >> [speaking in french] reporter: she needs her position as france's ambassador to the u.k., replacing the long serving minister. >> [speaking in french] reporter: this person has been a minister of solidarity, autonomy, and disabled people, previously was the first disabled deputy to be elected to the national assembly in 2012. >> [speaking in french] reporter: a historian specializing in minority rights in the u.s. is head of the national museum of immigration named education minister. last year, he said france has to

confront its colonial past. another notable promotion is the person who steps down as spokesperson to take over the role of the ministry of public action and accounts. the new government is composed of 27 members, of which 13 are women. anchor: we can now bring in paul smith, a professor in studies at the university of nottingham. good evening. thank you for joining us on "france 24." your reaction to this new cabinet announcement. is this more of the same or is a manual upon trying to do things differently and shake things up? >> it is quite provocative as a new government. very surprised by the justi minister staying in place. i was not surprised by the other one. that person i guess you would expect somebody who is strong on the diplomatic front to be appointed. the new education minister is also very interesting appointment. there are some elements of

continuity, but this is a very different composition. there are some names moved around and there has been a bit of shuffling, but it is a new set up ahead of the elections. anchor: i want to talk about a name you mentioned, the new foreign minister, because emmanuel macron has ruffled feathers within the different diplomatic corps, accusing civil servants of working against the executive branch, and diplomats are set to go on strike next month the second time they have ever going to strike, is naming a career diplomat like her as a foreign minister the way of combing nerves -- calming nerves? >> it looks that way. she is experienced. she comes from the right. she was in the government before. i am not entirely sure this strike will not be called off and her fellow diplomats will see her as necessarily being a

good appointment. they will probably wait and see, but i still think there is a great deal of anxiety. this is part of emmanuel macron strategy. he has thought a lot about changing institutions, and one he is taking on now is the diplomatic corps. anchor: let's talk about the education minister for a second. because this is a black french historian, and last year he said france needs to fight racial injustice and confront its colonial past, not things emmanuel macron likes to hear. >> you say that, but in 2017, was he was on the campaign trail, this was a young candidate who talked about france's history in algeria as being a crime against humanity, a war crime, so there is interesting thought he is much more close to the candidate of 2017, and it is almost as if he

is going back to that position. i see him being part of the general process being gauged. you think about one person's role in talking about giving people something to think about france and nigeria as well, this is part of that. anchor: in the aftermath of george floyd's killing, emmanuel macron said he did not want to see french statues that glorify slavery being removed was a bet is what i was referring to. >> yh, no, absolutely, i agree with that. it is interesting as an appointment. perhaps this, he is more than the education minister is more a historian who is appointed tog the ministry, but yes, this, this is a very provocative appointment. that is what i mean about this idea of provocation, about thinking about getting the french to think about actually perhaps do need to think about ouown past and a slightly

different way. anchor: and now looking forward towards the legislative elections in june, because of course everything can change between now and then, depending on how the president's party does. has emmanuel macron done enough to bring in voters who would typically go towards the left? >> i think, i think there is something there for those who would go towards the left, but i think he is campaigning in his own territory. i think there is a certain appeal to the moderate right. there is more of an appeal to the moderate left. there is still a great deal of moderate left-wing opinion. i think that that this this government will probably be enough to get elizabeth and emmanuel crown over the finishing line in june and the general election. anchor: elizabeth born says the government's top priority is the rising cost of living. how do you feel they will handle

that? >> well, i think that they have got to come up with a raft of measures. one of the problems is that this was not, the general economic situation in france is not being talked about very much. people are talking about the cost of living, purchasing power, but actually stagflation, production, all of these things are not yet been talked about in a very serious way, and they have to come up with a number of measures under will be measures coming out over the next few weeks. the opposition will see it as being election rigging, if you like, not reading as such, but a bribe, but that is the position that government is in they will come out with a series of measures over the next few weeks to try to convince voters that they are serious about the purchasing power prices. anchor: paul smith, thank you very much for joining us. in other news, the steel plant in mariupol has been totally

liberated. the announcement from the russian defense ministry. today, the last remaining troops were told to lay down their weapons. soldiers have been evacuated from the premises to pro-russian areas of ukraine, and while kyiv says it wants to arrange a prisoner swap, it is unclear if moscow is planning to place the surrendering troops on trial for war crimes. for more on the focus in eastern ukraine, here is this report. reporter: the governor of the region where several are situated said that the estimate of 12 that yesterday, actually there were three more that that were confirmed today was likely to be a conservative estimate because many areas of the city where ukraine rescue workerso not have access to and they're not able to find the bodies of people who may have been killed and he said and what was a bombingnd shelling campaign that was

several times more intense over the past 24 hours and it has been since the sta of this invaon and it is a city that has been targeted since pretty early on in the invasion and the locaauthoritie there estimate that 30% of the city's buildings are uninhabible. that was a few days ago, actually, so perhaps it is even more now, and 70% have suffered ateast some damage. it is part of an urban conglomeration with otr areas. the area to the north west of the area is now under russian control and the same regional governor release video this morning that the area that looks like mariupol. the city has been absolutely destroyed, many, many buildings looking as though they're going to need to be brought to the ground, rather than rebuilt in any way, so the russians are closing in on that part of the region. they are advancing from westwards from one region, town south of the area that they

control, but i remind you that the start of this phase of the combat operations of russia they said they wanted to take the whole of the region, which means not just this region, but also the other region, which is slightly to the west of this region, and in this region, they have not really made any serious advances. there are two most important cities in the region, the russian forces are really quite some distance from those two cities. anchor: that is our report earlier from kyiv. the liberations have begun to kyiv in the first war crimes trial since russia's invasion of ukraine began. a 21-year-old russian soldier has admitted to killing an unarmed civilian. he could get life behind bars are und guilty. the cases been closely watched with a verdict expected on monday. russian and finnish energy companies have announced moscow will be cutting off gas supplies to finland from tomorrow morning.

the announcement comes up to the country refused to pay for its imports in rubles. authorities say while the decision is regrettable, it is a scenario they have been planning for for months. reporter: a quibble over rubles, or the retaliatory steps russia threatened to take that defendant set a plan to join nato. the russian gstaad will cut gaps to finland starting saturday. natural gas accounts for 5% of finland's annual energy consumption. most of that gas comes from russia. reacting to the news, a ceo tried to dispel worries about supplies in the coming months. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: in the coming days, weeks, months, this has no effect at all. the delivery of gas should continue normally by the baltic. we believe that we can deliver gas to our customers so that they can continue operating as normal. also, our clients have made

significant preparations for some time, so they have alternative solutions. reporter: the baltic connector pipeline connects finland with estonia. statements suggest the dispute is at least partly political. >> [speaking in foreign language] translator: we want to get rid of russian energy. we do not want to use finish resources to finance potent -- vladimir putin's pursuit to destroy ukraine. this is very clear to us. reporter: it is not the first time that russia pulls the plug. in april, at all gas supplies to bulgaria and poland, which both refused to pay for gas in rubles. russia has continued to supply a large amount of gas the many european countries despite the invasion of ukraine. and as russia pushes along with its offensive, the use is divided on how to get off russian gas. anchor: finland is confident it can overcome turkeys opposition to it joining nato, according to the finish industry who spoke with "france 24."

the turkish president accuses finland that are bring members of the carters organization deemed a terrorist group. here is the minister speaking to our european affairs editor. >> i need to state very clearly that it is not for russia to dictate the choices of sovereign countries. national decisions that should there be a new iron curtain between finland and russia, it is not because of us. we are not threatening russi, and nato is a defense alliance, notttacking anyone. this is become russia has taken europe, it is russia distancingf itself from the current security order. anchor: we will be airing the phone interview with the finish european affairs minister at 11:15 paris time in about an

hour from now. the joe biden administration has said that the first batch of invitations for the americas summit in los angeles next month. it is unclear which countries have been invited and which have not. some regional governments that threatened to boycott the event if all states are not included, including cuba, venezuela, and nicaragua. officials in the biden administration say they are considering whether to include a cuban official. that is it for me. more coming up soon. ♪ ♪ >> [indiscernible] ♪ hello.

we are talking about india honored at this year's festival in cannes. many celebrities are here to fly the flag for the country. let's go meet two women from one of the biggest entertainment industries in the world. ♪ >> hi. i am a model-actors-actors from india in the global ambassador. ♪ >> hi. you are watching "france 24." >> hello. >> hello. >> is this your first time in cannes? >> it is. it is my debut. >> it has been quite an experience. it has been hectic. it was so much fun. >> what are your first impressions? how do you describe it to someone back home? >> a world of experience. the fashion is on point.

it looks glamorous, but it is pretty crazy backstage. >> describe what it's like walking down that legendary red carpet. >> like a live performance. i was so nervous before getting on it. my heart was in my mouth. i was so nervous. the moment i stepped on the carpet, i was like, i was at peace and feeling the music, the really loud music, and i was just enjoying the moment, and i remember getting off the carpet and going like was that all, because it was so short, and then somebody told me you are on for 60 minutes and i was like really, it felt like two minutes. ♪ >> it is scary. i mean, it is scary. does anybody say anything else?

it is nerve-racking. it's like a heart attack. i mean ridley, i just have to put it into perspective. my mom is really scary, nothing can be scarier than my mother, so i can get through this, but it is nerve-racking, like 500 photographers. it is blinding. what a future poker your dress? what if you have a slip? or you don't have enough tape everywhere? it is terrifying. plus sometimes you run into people who are absolute legends, like last year helen miriam was on the same carpet and iowa's died, so climbing those stairs at cannes -- oh my god, there are a lot of stairs. there are more stayers than there are carpet -- there is carpet. ♪ >> indian actors are on the jury. how significant is that? >> it is so amazing to see

indian women up there. i feel like you need to be presented as powerful women, and that is what it is. >> india is the country that honored this year. did you feel like you are representing your country? >> i was. i was brand india. that is something special. to be selected as a representative of your country is so special. >> i feel like we have always been a rich and culturally rich country with so much heritage, and we've been making movies for 60 years, and it is very nice to see it being recognized on an international platform. >> why do you think it has taken so long for india to get recognize that the cannes film festival? >> there is a language barrier. we make films and our regional languages. i feel like the world is waking up to how amazing movies can be in other languages.

i feel like a lot of the korean movies that we have been watching over the last couple of years have really brought that light, so it is nice to have attention brought towards cinemas from other countries in the world. it is really great. >> do you think indian women are represented nothing in world cinema? >> absolutely not. i don't think the represented enough in world cinema. i also feel like world cinema is only waking up to all the different stories and narratives that are out there now so it is really nice and supercold to see it. maybe not historically accurate, but i love watching it. i will take it, you know. i would take anything. ♪ >> since her first role in a superhero film in 2012, you have

made two or three movies a year. for someone watching who has never seen a film like that from which one would you recommend? >> that is a tough one. i would say watch one that was shown in italy. you can watch that. you can watch another one. you can watch beast. >> tell us about that. >> it is a film which was about like it was hijacked, feel that action, in india being india, we do musicals, right? like no one else in the world, so it was a great musical fest. ♪ >> [speaking in foreign language] >> you use your platform to talk

about different issues, including color is him -- colorism. is that something you have experienced? >> yes, it is blatant in india. we do not hide it. we are not shy about it. when i started working, i just finished law school i'm self indian, so in general, tend to be browner. there is always a cognitive dissonance for me, because when i come to europe everybody wants to have my skin color, and when i go back to india, i have extended family members because i have this huge indian family who are like wow, she is really beautiful, but she did not get her father's complexion. my father had lighter skin. yeah, it is definitely something that is part of the mainstream narrative. when i was a little kid, i grew up watching national tv commercials where dark girl

walks into a room and does not get a job, then she's a lightning cream and everybody wants to give her the job. all the boys arrange a marriage won her because now she is lighter skin. this is normal tv. it is something i grew up internalizing and realizing when i grew older that i have divided. >> you have so many articles and photographs of you online. you have been named most desirable woman many times. i wanted to ask you what to think of titles like that in 2022, most desirable woman? >> i mean, it is a great honor. it feels really nice when some but he says that. you want to feel desirable. that is something that is great. i do not take themselves seriously to be honest, because i want my work to mean something. i want people to connect with me through my craft, through my art . that is what keeps me going.

women across the world look at my story, because i do not come from a very glamorous background. i do not come from people who have been doing this for very long. i come from an academically-driven background. we have doctors, lawyers, accountants, engineers in my family, and i was the first one to get into films, glamour, so sometimes i feel like i have come a long way, and i hope that little girls across the world can look at me and be like, she didn't it. i hope i can do it too. >> you are certainly a role model with a huge following on social media. how important is a platform for actors today you think? >> i really look at social media as my tool to put out positivity. i generally think it is sometimes too much negativity,

because negativity sells in a lot of ways, so i ask her eyes they have become a positive, and it is a great way to connect with your fans. i have almost 20 million on instagram now. >> that is a lot. >> yeah, so it is great because i both looking up my comments and what my fans are saying about my films. >> i feel like film as a medium is so powerful. when you watch a movie, it can really change your life. it can be one of those moments that really transitioned you into a different person, perspective entirely, and as actors, you are basically playing this major role, bringing that to the viewer, and i feel like as a platform because now they have so much access to you on social media, you can really magnify, you know, and change world issues here at i think it is huge. >> thank you so much. >> thank you for having me. >> good luck with everything. >> thank you so much.

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ñçñqñqñqñqññññ#ñ#ww ñ?ñ? 05/20/22 05/20/22 [captioning made possible by democracy now!] amy: from new york, this is democracy now! code sing the mass shootings in trust i, south carolina, el paso, texas, and pittsburgh, last year in atlanta, this week in dallas, texas, now in buffalo , buffalo, new york, whe supremacy is a pson. it is a