“Indian Cinema Is Much More Than Just Bollywood”: Actor Anasuya Sengupta At NDTV World Summit

Anasuya Sengupta made history this year as the first Indian to win a top acting award at the Cannes Film Festival

Anasuya Gupta, Chidananda S. Naik and Mansi Maheshwari attended the NDTV World Summit on Wednesday. The directors shed light on the evolving landscape of Indian cinema, stating that it’s not just about Bollywood. “The most diverse approaches are emerging, and there are even regional films being considered for the Academy. There’s a Malayalam-language film in the talks, which is a matter of pride. Indian cinema transcends just Bollywood; it’s so much more than that. It’s about time to see films from all over the country being recognized and pushed to bigger platforms,” said Anasuya.

Chidananda S. Naik, who won the Cinefondation 1st Prize at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for his film Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know, stated, “Time and again, in recent years, we have seen that linguistic films are no longer a barrier. Telugu films or Kannada films are reaching audiences around the world, so I don’t see it as a barrier for us.”

Mansi Maheshwari, whose animated film Bunnyhood was selected for the La Cinefondation category and premiered at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, added, “I also write my films. All my team is from different places around the globe. I have people from South America, Africa and different parts of the continents. So we all have different perspectives and we bring different perspectives to the table.”

ICYDK, Anasuya Sengupta made history this year as the first Indian to win a top acting award at the Cannes Film Festival. The actress, who has primarily worked as a production designer in Mumbai and resides in Goa, was awarded Best Actress in the Un Certain Regard segment for her compelling performance in the film The Shameless, directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Constantin Bojanov. The film also stars well-known actress Mita Vashist and was shot over a month and a half in India and Nepal.