Rana Daggubati On Presenting Payal Kapadia’s Film All We Imagine As Light: “It’s The Merit…”

Rana Daggubati’s production house Spirit Media has acquired India distribution rights to Payal Kapadia’s film All We Imagine as Light.

Actor and producer Rana Daggubati is bringing Payal Kapadia’s film All We Imagine as Light to India. The movie, which won the Grand Prix at this year’s Cannes Film Festival, will open the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival on Friday. In an interview, Rana Daggubati was asked why he chose to present an independent film like All We Imagine as Light, to which he said that he is still not sure what is the difference between independent and mainstream cinema. Rana Daggubati said, “Even after 20 years in the industry I fail to understand what is Indie and what is mainstream. We have always thought that cinema which has song and dance is mainstream cinema and everything that has a unique story and emotions became independent because it was always hard to release a film without big stars and big names attached to it. Now, I think India has gone to that phase.”

The actor revealed that before making his acting debut, he co-produced an animated film Bommalata in 2004. While they won a National Award for the movie, it didn’t even get a theatrical release. Rana Daggubati said, “My career actually started with a film called Bommalata, which is an independent film that won a National Award but we couldn’t get a theatrical release at that time. From then on it was about trying to find the space for this. In India, unlike the rest of the world, there are no grants for filmmakers or art in that form. It’s just always been the merit of the film and a few filmmakers that have really championed these films out there.”

All We Imagine As Light premiered at the Cannes Film Festival on May 23, 2024. It was the first Indian film in 30 years to be showcased in the main competition at the Cannes Film Festival. All We Imagine As Light was selected to compete for the prestigious Palme d’Or at the event. While it did not win the highest award at Cannes, it was honoured with the Grand Prix, which is the festival’s second-highest award.

Known for films like Baahubali: The Beginning, Baahubali 2: The Conclusion, Dum Maaro Dum and Nene Raju Nene Mantri, Rana Daggubati’s latest release Vettaiyan is currently running in theatres. Next, he will be a part of the Prime Video series Snakes and Ladders. It will release on October 18.