Here’s a look at Indian movies that have been showcased at the Cannes Film Festival over the years

Gurnaaz Kaur

Cinema is a magical medium. For those who view it as an art form, The Cannes Film Festival is a big deal. As one of the world’s most lauded film festival opens at the French Riviera (after a delay of two months), we take a look at India’s connect with the prestigious event.

India shining

Indian movies have been a part of Cannes for decades. It was in 1946 when Chetan Anand’s film Neecha Nagar won the top award — the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film (now called Palme d’Or). A story about social realism, it depicted the class divide in the Indian society, and starred Kamini Kaushal and Zohra Sehgal. Four years later, in 1950, Chetan Anand was selected a member of the international jury. He became the first jury member from India. In 1952, filmmaker Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram’s Aman Bhupali represented India at Cannes. It was nominated for the Palme d’Or and bagged the Best Sound Recording Award.

In 1954, Bimal Roy’s classic Do Bigha Zamin won the illustrious Prix Internationale. In the following year, Bimal Roy’s Biraj Bahu was nominated for Palme d’Or. In the same year, baby Naaz was honoured with a Special Distinction Award for her performance in Raj Kapoor’s Boot Polish.

Satyajit Ray’s Pather Panchali, in 1956, won the Palm d’Or for its depiction of poverty in rural Bengal. The following year, Gotama: The Buddha, a documentary by Rajbhans Khanna won the Jury Prize. The 1950s was an good phase in the history of Indian cinema at Cannes, but with time the number of films decreased. However, there were regular entries for screening and many filmmakers made appearances at the festival.

Back in time

In 1982, Mrinal Sen became an international jury member and in 1983, his film Kharij won the Special Jury Prize. Even his film Kandhar was first screened (out of competition) in 1984 and then in 2010, as a part of the Cannes Classics.

A few years later in 1988, Mira Nair’s Salaam Bombay stole the show by winning both the Camera d’Or and the Audience Prize. The year also saw the screening of Bengali film Antarajali Jatra by Goutam Ghose in the Un Certain Regard section. The next year, it was Malayalam film Piravi that received a special mention in the Camera d’Or category.

By this time, regional cinema gained a prominent hold and Satyajit Ray’s Ganashatru had a special screening in 1989. In 1991, representing Northeast India at Cannes was Manipuri film Ishanou by Aribam Syam Sharma. Oriya film Indradhanura Chhai competed for the Grand Prix in 1995. Marana Simhasanam, a Malayalam film by Murali Nair won the Camera d’Or in 1999.

As the decade changed, the Indian association with the French film festival only got stronger. From Bollywood beauties making appearances on the red carpet to more films and filmmakers being lauded for their art and skills, there has been a lot to feel proud of. Sanjay Leela Bhansali’s magnum opus Devdas was screened in 2002 and the next year saw Aishwarya Rai becoming the first Indian woman to be a part of the international jury!

The first Tamil movie to be screened at Cannes was Veyil. This was in 2006. In 2010, Udaan, a story of 17-year-old Rohan was selected for a screening in the Un Certain Regard category and bagged critical acclaim. Miss Lovely, a sleazy sex-horror film, competed in the Un Certain Regard category in 2012. Anurag Kashyap’s Gangs of Wasseypur was screened at the Director’s Fortnight the same year.

His other films Ugly (2012) and Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016) were also screened in the same category.

While Irrfan Khan and Nimrat Kaur-starrer Lunchbox got a standing ovation at the International Critics Week in 2013, Amitabh Bachchan was chosen to open the festival. The same year saw Vidya Balan and Nandita Das among the international jury, and the films Bombay Talkies and Monsoon Shootout were screened. Titli by Kanu Behl was screened in the Un Certain Regard in 2014. In 2015, it was Maasan and Chauthi Koot. In 2016, there was Baahubali: The Beginning and five other films that were screened. However, the next two years we saw no films. But the following two years saw Manto (2018) and Sarbjit (2019) being screened.

Seen on the red carpet

• Aishwarya Rai
• Deepika Padukone
• Sonam Kapoor
• Diana Penty
• Huma Qureshi
• Kangana Ranaut
• Mallika Sherawat
• Katrina Kaif
• Priyanka Chopra

Indian films to be screened in 2021

• Invisible Demons by Rahul Jain in the Special Cinema for the Climate section
• A Night of Knowing Nothing by Payal Kapadia in The Parallel Directors’ Fortnight section
• Eka by Suman Sen in La Fabrique Cinema section