The Indian film "All We Imagine As Light" has won the Grand Prix award at the 77th annual Cannes Film Festival. The Grand Prix is the festival's second-most prestigious prize, following the Palme d’Or. Directed by Payal Kapadia and starring Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Chhaya Kadam, and Hridhu Haroon in the lead roles, this marks a historic achievement as it is the first Indian film to ever win the Grand Prix at Cannes.
Payal Kapadia and the cast of her film "All We Imagine As Light" made a impact at its world premiere at Cannes on Thursday night. The film is the first Indian movie in 30 years to qualify for the festival's competition section and wining the The Grand Prix award. The screening concluded with an eight-minute standing ovation, one of the longest of this year's festival, showcasing the film's strong reception.
Kapadia's film was competing against works by acclaimed directors such as Jacques Audiard, Yorgos Lanthimos, David Cronenberg, Paul Schrader, and Jia Zhangke, as highlighted by IndieWire. International critics were highly impressed with the film. Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian praised its "freshness and emotional clarity," comparing Kapadia's "fluent and absorbing" storytelling to that of Satyajit Ray in his classics "Mahanagar" and "Aranyer Din Ratri."
Jordan Mintzer of The Hollywood Reporter also commended the film, noting that "All We Imagine As Light" is a significant departure from typical Bollywood masala musicals, despite featuring a brief but memorable impromptu dance scene towards the end. Mintzer appreciated the film's story of women seeking love and happiness in a chaotic world, likening it to popular Mumbai-set movies where heroines endure considerable heartbreak before finding resolution.
In 2015, Kapadia lost a scholarship by protesting against the political appointment of uncredentialed authorities to the Film and Television Institute of India.
Payal Kapadia and her film has made a strong impression at Cannes and garnering critical acclaim and highlighting a different narrative style within Indian cinema.
Inputs From IANS
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