MUMBAI: Bollywood megastar Amitabh Bachchan’s Hollywood debut film – ‘The Great Gatsby’ directed by Baz Luhrmann is to open the 66th Cannes Film Festival, this May!

‘The Great Gatsby’, based on F Scott Fitzgerald’s 1925 classic novel with the same name, featured Hollywood big-wigs Leonardo DiCaprio, Toby Maguire and Carey Mulligan in lead roles.

The excited veteran actor, Amitabh Bachchan took to facebook to express his happiness on the news.

Posted the Big B, “Baz Luhrmann informs me that ‘The Great Gatsby’ has been officially selected for the opening film for Cannes film festival on May 15th .. all very excited ! And the premier of the film in New York on May 1st as told to me … but yet to be confirmed .. So travel coming up for these occasions.”

For the director of ‘The Great Gatsby’, the Cannes Film Festival held every year has “always been so close to our hearts” – since Luhrmann’s debut film, 21 years ago, titled ‘Strictly Ballroom’ was screened at the prestigious festival.

On 15 May 2013, ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be screened at the Grand Théâtre Lumière of the Palais des Festivals.

Reminisces Luhrmann, “F Scott Fitzgerald wrote some of the most poignant and beautiful passages of his extraordinary novel just a short distance away at a villa outside Saint-Raphaël.” Referring to a place in the Var department in the Provence-Alpes-Côte d’Azur region in southeastern France.

Intrestingly, ‘The Great Gatsby’ will be the second film to be screened in 3D format, in the history of Cannes festival after Pixar’s ‘Up’ in 2009. The romantic drama film will hit Indian screens on May 10, 2013.