India’s engagement with Cannes is as old as the festival itself
Over the past couple of weeks, India has been abuzz with the news of its glories at Cannes. From the prestigious Grand Prix for Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light to Chidananda S Naik’s La Cinef triumph for Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, the country has had its most prominent year at the much heralded festival. While this year has caught eyeballs, it isn’t the first time an Indian film has wowed the esteemed juries at the French Riviera.
A storied presence
India’s engagement with Cannes goes all the way back to the first edition of the event in 1946. And it wasn’t just participation, for Chetan Anand’s feature film Neecha Nagar won the Grand Prix, which was the top award at the festival before the introduction of the Palm d’Or. This began a much-loved affair where Indian films were awaited with bated breath, even if they did not end up winning, such as V. Shantaram’s Amar Bhoopali or Raj Kapoor’s Awaara.
Perennial Cannes favourite Satyajit Ray began his journey at the festival with Pather Panchali, which won the Best Human Document Award. While that was his only triumph there, Ray’s films were a constant fixture throughout the sixties. Meanwhile, auteur Bimal Roy’s Do Bigha Zameen also made a mark at the festival, and continues to be held in high regard at the event.
Contemporary explorations
After a lull that lasted over two decades, Indian cinema started making its presence felt at Cannes again in the ‘80s. This was heralded by stalwarts of Indian parallel cinema such as Mrinal Sen, Mira Nair, and Deepa Mehta all winning prestigious accolades like the Camera d’Or and the Jury Prize. This was coupled with the presence of Indian filmmakers and actors in the Cannes juries, which ensured a desi presence at the festival.
While feature film wins have been few and far between, Indian documentaries have been enchanting the Cannes juries for quite some time. Shirley Abraham and Amit Madheshiya’s Cinema Travellers won the L'Œil d'Or special mention in 2016, while Payal Kapadia (again) and Shaunak Sen won the Golden Eye for their documentaries A Night of Knowing Nothing in 2021 and All That Breathes in 2023 respectively. We wonder who is gonna be the next big Indian name at the festival.