Mumbai, India had no moment at Cannes, says filmmaker Anurag Kashyap, insisting that independent filmmakers' victory at the European festival is theirs alone and the government does not support that kind of award-winning cinema. .
India won an unprecedented three awards at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival last month - Payal Kapadia became the first director from India to win the Grand Prix for her film "All We Imagine as Light", Anasuya Sengupta was awarded the Best Actress award. In the Un Certain Regard strand for "The Shameless", and FTII student Chidanand S. Naik earned the Best Short Film award in the La Cinef section for "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know".
“I get very upset when it is called 'India@Cannes'. This is an encouragement... an opportunity for many independent filmmakers, but their victory is their own,” Kashyap said in an interview here.“India had no moment at Cannes, not a single film among them is Indian. We need to address it the way it needs to be addressed. India has stopped supporting cinema of the kind that was at Cannes,'' he said.
Kapadia's "All We Imagine as Light", which was India's first film in 30 years to feature in the main competition at Cannes, which is known for giving a platform to new voices, received funding from a French company, he said. happened. The Malayalam-Hindi feature, which earned the second biggest prize at Cannes after the Palme d'Or, is an Indo-French co-production between France's Petit Chaos and India's Chalk & Cheese Films.There were several films at Cannes that either had India-based stories or featured Indian talent, but most were co-productions with banners from other countries. Indian-British filmmaker Sandhya Suri's "Santosh" and Karan Kandhari's "Sister Midnight" was funded by the UK, while Konstantin Bozanov's "The Shameless" was almost self-funded. However, Chidananda's "Sunflower..." is a production of the TV Wing one-year program under the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Kashyap said, "India likes to take credit for many things, they do not support these films and they do not even support the release of these films in cinemas."
In 2021, Kapadia won an award at Cannes for the documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing", but it is not yet released in India."Stop taking credit for it. Let's stop this fake celebration... even if the film releases, no one will go to watch it in theatres," the 51-year-old said.
He also cited the example of Shaunak Sen's documentary "All That Breathes", which won the Golden Eye award at Cannes 2022, which did not release on Indian screens and went straight to streamers. Then there were independent films like “Jaggi” and “Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar” that won awards at festivals that would eventually find a home on streamers.
Kashyap was also critical of the spotlight on influencers on famous red carpets."India has this obsession with Cannes... More than Cannes, it's about the red carpet. It's on another level. It makes me more angry when I hear these things... Geetanjali Rao at Cannes Won three awards (for 'Printed Rainbow') In 2003, I wrote an article on it, but it didn't get recognition, hardly anyone wrote about it here. There is no support system."
Days after her win, Kapadia, an FTII graduate, wrote an open letter in which she called for a government fund to promote independent film production for women filmmakers and under-represented sections and to launch similar initiatives. Praised the Kerala government for.Kashyap, whose films like "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Ugly" and "Kennedy" have screened in sections like Directors' Fortnight and midnight screenings at Cannes over the past few years, said he was also surprised when former FTII chairman Gajendra Chauhan Took credit for it. Kapadia's victory. In 2015, Kapadia was one of the students who protested against the appointment of "Mahabharat" actor-turned-BJP politician Chouhan as FTII chief. Kapadia was among 35 students who were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for offenses related to unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and rioting.
According to the defense lawyer representing the students, the charge sheet was filed in 2016, and the next court hearing is scheduled for June 26.
“The worst thing is that the person who filed a case against him and sent some students to jail is the first person who took his credit and said, 'I am proud that I was FTII (chairman).' what is his name? Yudhishthir ji (his 'Mahabharat' role), Gajendra Chauhan said, 'I am very proud that when I was the head, she was a student, you are the one who filed the case against her.' The director, who will be seen in a starring role in the web series "Bad Cop", said the Indian film business is mainly focused on making blockbuster hits.
“We have made many independent films, I have seen how much support they do and do not get. After all, everyone in India is here to do business. Nobody wants to do good work, everyone wants to do hit work (success).,
When asked about small films like critically acclaimed 'Zoram' and 'All India Rank' not being marketed well to reach the audience, Kashyap said that such films cannot match the marketing of a big film. There is pressure on small films as well; they cannot spend much on the visibility of big films. Also they are unable to get good show timings. Get it, because good show timings are covered by big films,” he said, praising the South film industry for deciding the marketing and ticket pricing for both big budget and small films.
Directed by Aditya Dutt, "Bad Cop" stars Gulshan Devaiah as Karan, a fierce policeman who tries to track down a villain more powerful and deadlier than him, Kazbe (Kashyap), while also navigating his personal relationships. Also handles.The action-drama series will premiere on June 21 on Disney+Hotstar.
India won an unprecedented three awards at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival last month - Payal Kapadia became the first director from India to win the Grand Prix for her film "All We Imagine as Light", Anasuya Sengupta was awarded the Best Actress award. In the Un Certain Regard strand for "The Shameless", and FTII student Chidanand S. Naik earned the Best Short Film award in the La Cinef section for "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know".
“I get very upset when it is called 'India@Cannes'. This is an encouragement... an opportunity for many independent filmmakers, but their victory is their own,” Kashyap said in an interview here.“India had no moment at Cannes, not a single film among them is Indian. We need to address it the way it needs to be addressed. India has stopped supporting cinema of the kind that was at Cannes,'' he said.
Kapadia's "All We Imagine as Light", which was India's first film in 30 years to feature in the main competition at Cannes, which is known for giving a platform to new voices, received funding from a French company, he said. happened. The Malayalam-Hindi feature, which earned the second biggest prize at Cannes after the Palme d'Or, is an Indo-French co-production between France's Petit Chaos and India's Chalk & Cheese Films.There were several films at Cannes that either had India-based stories or featured Indian talent, but most were co-productions with banners from other countries. Indian-British filmmaker Sandhya Suri's "Santosh" and Karan Kandhari's "Sister Midnight" was funded by the UK, while Konstantin Bozanov's "The Shameless" was almost self-funded. However, Chidananda's "Sunflower..." is a production of the TV Wing one-year program under the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII).
Kashyap said, "India likes to take credit for many things, they do not support these films and they do not even support the release of these films in cinemas."
In 2021, Kapadia won an award at Cannes for the documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing", but it is not yet released in India."Stop taking credit for it. Let's stop this fake celebration... even if the film releases, no one will go to watch it in theatres," the 51-year-old said.
He also cited the example of Shaunak Sen's documentary "All That Breathes", which won the Golden Eye award at Cannes 2022, which did not release on Indian screens and went straight to streamers. Then there were independent films like “Jaggi” and “Pokhar Ke Dunu Paar” that won awards at festivals that would eventually find a home on streamers.
Kashyap was also critical of the spotlight on influencers on famous red carpets."India has this obsession with Cannes... More than Cannes, it's about the red carpet. It's on another level. It makes me more angry when I hear these things... Geetanjali Rao at Cannes Won three awards (for 'Printed Rainbow') In 2003, I wrote an article on it, but it didn't get recognition, hardly anyone wrote about it here. There is no support system."
Days after her win, Kapadia, an FTII graduate, wrote an open letter in which she called for a government fund to promote independent film production for women filmmakers and under-represented sections and to launch similar initiatives. Praised the Kerala government for.Kashyap, whose films like "Gangs of Wasseypur", "Ugly" and "Kennedy" have screened in sections like Directors' Fortnight and midnight screenings at Cannes over the past few years, said he was also surprised when former FTII chairman Gajendra Chauhan Took credit for it. Kapadia's victory. In 2015, Kapadia was one of the students who protested against the appointment of "Mahabharat" actor-turned-BJP politician Chouhan as FTII chief. Kapadia was among 35 students who were charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code for offenses related to unlawful assembly, criminal intimidation and rioting.
According to the defense lawyer representing the students, the charge sheet was filed in 2016, and the next court hearing is scheduled for June 26.
“The worst thing is that the person who filed a case against him and sent some students to jail is the first person who took his credit and said, 'I am proud that I was FTII (chairman).' what is his name? Yudhishthir ji (his 'Mahabharat' role), Gajendra Chauhan said, 'I am very proud that when I was the head, she was a student, you are the one who filed the case against her.' The director, who will be seen in a starring role in the web series "Bad Cop", said the Indian film business is mainly focused on making blockbuster hits.
“We have made many independent films, I have seen how much support they do and do not get. After all, everyone in India is here to do business. Nobody wants to do good work, everyone wants to do hit work (success).,
When asked about small films like critically acclaimed 'Zoram' and 'All India Rank' not being marketed well to reach the audience, Kashyap said that such films cannot match the marketing of a big film. There is pressure on small films as well; they cannot spend much on the visibility of big films. Also they are unable to get good show timings. Get it, because good show timings are covered by big films,” he said, praising the South film industry for deciding the marketing and ticket pricing for both big budget and small films.
Directed by Aditya Dutt, "Bad Cop" stars Gulshan Devaiah as Karan, a fierce policeman who tries to track down a villain more powerful and deadlier than him, Kazbe (Kashyap), while also navigating his personal relationships. Also handles.The action-drama series will premiere on June 21 on Disney+Hotstar.
