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6 Indian films that previously competed for Cannes Film Festival's Palme d'Or before All We Imagine as Light
India has been nominated at Cannes after 30 years with All We Imagine as Light, but are you aware of the six Indian films that previously competed for the Palme d'Or?
Two nurses from Kerala have broken Indian cinema's long jinx at Palme d'Or contention, marking a historic return for the country at the Cannes Film Festival.
Prabha and Anu, the central characters in Mumbai-born director Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, have taken India to Cannes after 30 years in a competition previously dominated by masters such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen.
More about All We Imagine As Light
All We Imagine As Light is an Indo-French collaboration that follows the story of Prabha, a nurse, who receives an unsettling surprise from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, her roommate and close friend, Anu, seeks privacy in order to be with her lover. Eventually, the two embark on a road trip to a beach town, where they discover freedom for their aspirations and longings to unfold.
Payal at Cannes this year will have to beat some of the best of world cinema to bring home the Palme d'Or. That list includes Francis Ford Coppola (Megalopolis), Sean Baker (Anora), Yórgos Lánthimos (Kinds Of Kindness), David Cronenberg (The Shrouds), Andrea Arnold (Bird), Paul Schrader (Oh Canada), Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez) and Paulo Sorrentino (Parthenope) among others.
Did you know only 6 Indian films have made it to the Palme d'Or section at Cannes?
The first Indian documentary to be nominated at the Palme d'Or was Gotoma the Buddha in 1957. Though it couldn't win Best Film, it took home a Special Mention for Best Director Award (Rajbans Khanna). The following year, Satyajit Ray's Parash Pathar was nominated in the coveted category.
This 1958 Bengali fantasy comedy was Ray's first film outside his popular The Apu Trilogy. Adapted from Parasuram's (Rajsekhar Basu) short story of a similar title, the film provided insight into Ray's comedic flair. It revolves around a middle-class clerk who stumbles upon a stone with the ability to turn objects into gold. Parash Pathar, however, couldn't win.
Four years later, in 1962, Satyajit Ray's other movie, Devi, was nominated for Palme d'Or. This Bengali-language Hindu drama marked Sharmila Tagore's debut in showbiz alongside Soumitra Chatterjee. Inspired by a short story by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay, the film explores the worship of women and young girls as forms of goddesses, Durga or Kali, a tradition more commonly observed in Nepal as the Kumari tradition. Devi also didn't bring home the laurel.
In 1983, Mrinal Sen's Kharij was nominated in two categories. Based on the 1974 Ramapada Chowdhury novel of the same name, this film was already a hit at the box office. Though it couldn't win the Palme d'Or, it did win the Cannes Film Festival's coveted Jury Award.
1984 marked Satyajit Ray's last presence in the category with a nomination for his film Ghare Baire. This romantic drama, which won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali, starred Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Jennifer Kendal, and Swatilekha Chatterjee in the lead roles. Unfortunately, this time, too, Ray came back home empty-handed.
The last time India was nominated in the Palme d'Or category was in 1994. Shaji N. Karun's Swaham entered Cannes with its intriguing storyline. This Malayalam drama starred Ashwini, Venumani Vishnu, and Mullenezhi, among others. Swaham, too, couldn't break the jinx of India winning a Palme d'Or.
For the facts, if Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light wins at Cannes, it would be India's first-ever Palme d'Or win.
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