Several Bollywood personalities are making a beeline to France this summer to be part of the upcoming Cannes Film Festival

Prosenjit Chatterjee will be attending the event as well. However, until two days ago, he wasn't even sure whether he was going or not.

Turns out the veteran Bengali actor has been nominated by the Information & Broadcasting (I&B) ministry to represent Bengali cinema at Cannes. The actor was apparently toying with the idea to attend the French Riviera for a while but had not made up his mind till the government of West Bengal urged him to make the representation.

`Bengali cinema has always cut a mark at international platforms with Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, Ritwik Ghatak and most recently, Rituparno Ghosh making their marks. Being the centenary year of Indian cinema, Cannes will also have a substantial focus on India and Bengal has always been in their radar, ` says a source.

Prosenjit will speak at forums and highlight Bengali cinema at the festival and facilitate a worldwide release of the film which is also a first for a Bengali film.

`I wasn't sure till yesterday that I would soon make a trip to Cannes as there are too many commitments and managing dates has been an issue. I got a call from the I&B ministry directly and I could not refuse them especially when the moot point is Bengali cinema. I have always pushed for market expansion, ` adds the Kolkata-based actor.