Anurag Kashyap reacts to Payal Kapadia's Cannes win, "India just likes to take credit"

MUMBAI: Anurag Kashyap never minces words when it comes to expressing his opinions on issues related to cinema and society. The filmmaker recently called out the appropriation of Payal Kapadia’s Cannes 2024 victory as India's collective achievement. Anurag, in an interview with PTI said that India has not yet given the rebate promised to All We Imagine as Light.

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Anurag, while speaking about Payal's Cannes achievement opined, “I get very upset when it’s said ‘India@Cannes’. This is a boost… a shot in the arm for a lot of independent filmmakers but their victory is their own. India didn’t have any moment at Cannes, not a single of those films are Indian. We need to address it the way it should be addressed. India has stopped supporting such cinema, the kind of cinema that was at Cannes.”

He further said, “Payal Kapadia's film happened because of the French fund. India did not even give the rebate promised to that film. Still it is not been given. Sandhya Suri's film as funded from UK Film Lottery Fund. Karan Kandhari's film was funded from UK. Konstantin (Bojanov, who directed The Shameless) film was almost self-financed and a company that funded it. He got no support from India. India just likes to take credit for a lot of things. They do not even support these films to release in cinema in India. Payal Kapadia's last film also won at Cannes. Has it released in India? We have two Oscar-nominated documentaries. Did they release in India? The government does not even have a support system for things that bring a lot of soft power, cultural respect to India. Let's stop this useless celebration.”

Anurag made his directorial debut with Paanch which never got released. His second film Black Friday released after a prolonged delay since it was considered politically controversial for depicting the 1993 Mumbai blasts. He later shot to fame with Dev D, Gulaal, Gangs of Wasseypur - 1 and 2, Mukkabaaz, Sacred Games and Manmarziyaan.

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Anurag will be next seen as the antagonist in Vijay Sethupathi-starrrer Maharaja. His upcoming neo noir thriller Kennedy premiered at Cannes Film Festival 2023.

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Credits - Hindustan Times