MUMBAI, Feb. 18 -- One of the first images of French President Emmanuel Macron's visit to Mumbai -- the first leg of his three-day trip to India for bilateral talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi -- was a video of him on a morning run along Marine Drive accompanied by two security personnel on Tuesday. The video, which surfaced from an unnamed source, was swiftly shared and Mumbaikars marvelled at the French head of state's commitment to routine and fitness. For billionaire industrialist and chairman of RPG Enterprises Harsh Goenka, two things stood out which he shared on X: "No visible convoy, minimal security, just blending into the city and doing his thing. The fitness level. Leadership needs stamina as public life is demanding. And think of our politicians." That smooth run on an even gravel path was however made possible after deft coordination among various local administrative bodies. The state administration as well as authorities at the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) were taken unawares when they received information from the French authorities travelling with President Macron, about the latter's plan to go on a run in south Mumbai, a senior IPS officer told Hindustan Times. As soon as the administration was told about it, Mumbai police were alerted. They quickly organised a convoy with bullet proof vehicles to travel alongside the President. Officers in the convoy told HT that "the French President took the Madame Cama Road to Marine Drive and jogged up to Charni Road, took the bridge and came to the Maharshi Karve Marg". Two days ago, the BMC had deployed its workers to repair all the roads and fill all visible potholes in the A Ward. The work is still on. An insider in the civic body said that they would put the video of the French President's run on social media as a part of its PR programme to tell disgruntled Mumbaikars that Mumbai's roads are indeed in a good shape. "Since this was planned at the last moment, there was very little element of threat. Cops in civil clothes were deployed along the route as a part of the bandobast," a police officer told HT. "If the French President wishes to go on another jog on Wednesday morning, we are prepared." Later in the day the French President and First Lady Brigitte Macron had a sit-down lunch at the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel, Colaba, with key stakeholders of the Hindi film industry - filmmakers Zoya Akhtar and Neeraj Ghaywan, along with actors Shabana Azmi, Manoj Bajpayee, Anil Kapoor, and Richa Chadha, and Grammy Award-winning composer Ricky Kej - for an animated exchange about cinema, culture and collaboration. The two-hour meeting over a curated Indo-French menu, the highlight of which were a desi spin on ratatouille, paneer bhurji dumplings, plant-based caviar, strawberry desserts and kulfi, centered around how France and India can deepen collaboration through the film industries and expand the scope of storytelling. Kej, who was part of the French delegation, said, "Ahead of the lunch we spoke about the soft power of music and the possibility of Indo-French music collaborations. At the lunch we discussed how to tell French stories to Indian audiences and Indian stories to French audiences. The President also discussed how Indian cinema could be made more accessible in France and vice versa." "Madame Macron told me what a big fan she was of Danny Boyle's 'Slumdog Millionaire,' at which point I turned her attention to Anil Kapoor - who played a crucial part in the film -- at the table; they took selfies post-lunch," said Kej. She then turned to Zoya Akhtar to say that she may consider making France "more attractive to Asian tourists" as she did with Spain with her film 'Zindagi na milegi dobara', shared Kej. Post-lunch, Manoj Bajpayee posted on X: "Conversations like these, on how India and France can work together more closely in cinema and culture, remind you how important thoughtful leadership and cultural dialogue are in today's world." "There was a lively discussion on how to make things better for independent cinema, which suffers the most," said Richa Chadha. Drawing a distinction between mainstream and independent films, she noted that while commercial Hindi cinema travels widely and caters to markets with large expatriate populations, independent films are often grouped under "world cinema, where distribution challenges remain significant". She added, "The President wasn't passively listening. He was actively thinking of solutions to the problems being raised (such as limited theatrical access for smaller films)." She cited filmmaker Kanu Behl's Indo-French co-production 'Agra', which, despite premiering at Cannes, secured only a limited release in India. "When a big film comes, smaller independent films struggle to get proper screens and showtimes. Globally, traditional theatre-going has dropped, but attendance in cinema has risen in interesting ways. There needs to be an adaptive distribution model." Later in the day post-dinner, the French President took a walk in south Mumbai for a spot of sight-seeing. He stopped by at Kala Ghoda, the Bombay High Court, David Sassoon Library, the BMC headquarters and Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT). India pushes France for maximum local content: P9...