Mumbai, May 11 (IANS): Actress Pooja Hegde will be making her debut at the annual Cannes Film Festival while also representing the country.

The 'Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo' actor will be flying to France on May 16. She will be attending the festival on the May 17-18 and she will be present at the after-party that hosts some of the most celebrated actors worldwide.

Pooja says, "First and foremost I am so proud that India will be the country of honour, this year, at the Marche' Du Film at the Cannes Film Festival. Our country has a rich history at the festival, which stems back to Chetan Anand's 'Neecha Nagar' winning the top prize at the festival in 1946. I strongly believe in the power of cinema and stories to overcome language, geographic and culture barriers."

"Cannes represents a unique celebration of those barriers being removed - through the coming together of Film, Culture and Fashion. The opportunity to be attending and representing India is one I will always cherish, and hope to continue to do so for the rest of my life."

On the work front, Pooja is gearing up to shoot for 'Kabhi Eid Kabhi Diwali' with Salman Khan and dive into the promotional spree for Rohit Shetty's 'Cirkus'. She also has 'SSMB28' opposite Mahesh Babu on her slate.