Payal Kapadia made history by being the first Indian director to win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival with her film “All We Imagine as Light”.
Indian director Payal Kapadia’s charming breakthrough movie lights the Cannes competition with its lambent tale of a Mumbai nurse bonding within a city of 20 million people. Prime Minister Narendra Modi thanked Payal Kapadia on Sunday for making history as the first Indian director to win the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival with her film.
The film acquired the festival’s second-most prestigious award, following the Palme d’Or, which was given to American director Sean Baker for “Anora” during the closing ceremony on Saturday night.
PM Modi reacted to Kapadia’s achievement, saying that the prestigious award not only recognizes her great skills but also inspires a new generation of Indian filmmakers.
“India is proud of Payal Kapadia for her historic win of the Grand Prix at the 77th Cannes Film Festival for her film ‘All We Imagine as Light’. Her exceptional skill continues to shine on the global stage as an FTII alumnus, revealing India’s abundant inventiveness. This distinguished award not only recognizes her extraordinary abilities, but also inspires a new generation of Indian filmmakers,” the Prime Minister wrote on his X social media page.
Payal Kapadia’s charming sophomore film, about two Mumbai nurses bonding in a metropolis of 20 million people, shines brightly in the Cannes competition.
Kapadia’s picture, which premiered on Thursday night, is the first Indian film in 30 years, as well as the first by an Indian female filmmaker, to be selected for the Cannes picture Festival’s main competition.
There is a scene early in Payal Kapadia’s “All We Imagine as Light,” her second feature after 2021’s poetic hybrid documentary “A Night of Knowing Nothing,” that highlights the film’s unique brilliance. Prabha (Kani Kusruti), a dedicated nurse with tired eyes, boards the commuter train home after another long day, staring out at the shimmering blur of the city. Her life is far from a fairground, yet when she clings to a pole to balance herself with the rushing night air rustling her hair, she could nearly be on a carousel. Kapadia has established her uncommon gift for finding sequences of exquisite poetry within the humdrum blank verse of regular Indian life after only two films.
The film’s title is only vaguely explained, in a story about a factory worker who was so exploited by his employer’s gruelingly long shifts that he couldn’t recall what daylight looked like at times. But in the peaceful conclusion of “All We Imagine as Light” which is little more than a clean wrap-up — when the tinkling piano theme plays out one last time and strings of LEDs twinkle, we might hope that these women will not face the same fate. The light is all around them, and they only have to imagine it because they can’t see it coming from within.
In her acceptance speech, Kapadia acknowledged the essential contributions of the film’s three leading actresses Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, and Chhaya Kadam stating that the film would not have been possible without them.
“This film is about friendship, about three very different women. Oftentimes, women are pitted against each other. This is the way our society is designed and it is really unfortunate. But for me, friendship is a very important relationship because it can lead to greater solidarity, inclusivity and empathy,” Praba explained.
Source : INDIA TODAY
