MUMBAI : Actor Auroshikha Dey is on cloud nine right now, as her latest project, Bulgarian film The Shameless has been selected to premiere at the 77th Cannes Film Festival this year in the Un Certain Regard section. Set in India and directed by Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov, the film stars an ensemble cast from India and Nepal.
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“I was just stunned when I first heard the big news. I didn’t know how to react. I was finding an expression to express. I was over the moon when my producer and director shared the news with me. I am on top of the world right now, so excited and happy,” gushes Dey, best known for her film The Warrior Queen Of Jhansi (2019).
The actor feels that the opportunity to be part of a film that’s being showcased as such a prestigious global platform is not just an “honour”, but also a chance for her to represent both the film and her country to a wider audience.
“Cannes is one of the biggest film festivals in the world, and when you are representing the film, and the country as well, to the global audience, there’s an added advantage. I hope we get to showcase the film in India as well, and premiering at Cannes does make a lot of difference,” she notes.
Dey also acknowledges the struggle of Indie films to gain recognition, and emphasises on the importance of international exposure. She elucidates, “It is true that until and unless you go to bigger platforms, many small films go unnoticed. Nobody makes an effort to watch it; you have to make a name for the movie. It is an irony! You make a film in India and you have to make it go outside the country for the Indian people to accept it. I don’t know why it happens. Maybe because there are no big faces so they are scared or doubtful to put their money or time into something which is not known to them or their territory, because they wouldn’t know how good the director is, or how the actors have performed.”
Urging for greater support for Indie films, Dey adds, “We need investors and audiences to take risks on lesser-known projects. One should take an effort and that extra risk to contribute in such Indie films, that’s how the film and actors grow.”
Despite all the challenges, Dey remains optimistic about the future of The Shameless, which tells the story of an Indian sex worker, on a pilgrimage to a remote temple, where she confronts her past, including a love affair with Renuka, now imprisoned for murder in Bangalore.
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“Makers are still running to get the film noticed, and focusing on International OTT platforms as well. We will make sure it goes to many big festivals across the country. We don’t our project to be something that came and went without making any impact. Cannes has accepted it in such a prestigious section, I am sure it makes a lot of difference, that means the story and film has meaning. So, going there itself has given us the first tick. Now, how the audience will take it, it’s all up to them.”
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Credits - Hindustan Times
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