French President Emmanuel Macron and First Lady Brigitte Macron met prominent Indian filmmakers and actors, including Zoya Akhtar, Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Anil Kapoor and Kabir Khan, during a two-hour lunch in Mumbai, Grammy-winning composer Ricky Kej told news agency PTI on Tuesday.

The two-hour luncheon, which began at 12.30pm at the Taj Mahal Palace hotel, was also attended by Kej, Neeraj Ghaywan, and Richa Chadha.

Kej, who was part of the French delegation, said discussions largely focused on strengthening collaboration between the French and Indian film industries and exploring new opportunities for cross-border storytelling.

“We spoke about how France and India can deepen ties through filmmaking — telling French stories in India and Indian stories in France — while also creating projects that can succeed commercially in both markets,” he told PTI.

The menu featured Indo-French dishes such as an Indian-style ratatouille, paneer bhurji dumplings, strawberry desserts and kulfi.

Macron also shared photos from the meeting on X. “Alongside legends of Indian cinema. Culture brings us together,” he wrote.

Kej shared that the meeting held a special personal moment for Anil Kapoor. Brigitte Macron had mentioned during her flight how much she admired the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire. When Kapoor arrived, Kej introduced them, and the First Lady recognised him from the movie.

“What made the meeting especially memorable was the warmth and graciousness of his (the French President's) wife. She was incredibly kind and generous, and I was deeply touched to hear how familiar she was with my work and how much she appreciated the international films I've been part of,” Kapoor told PTI.

President Macron is in India from February 17 to 19 at the invitation of Prime Minister Narendra Modi to attend the AI Impact Summit and hold bilateral discussions. This marks his fourth visit to India - and his first to Mumbai.