Esprit Cannes-do

India's run at Cannes this year was a meta phenomenon that could rival the neorealist dramas crafted by Vittorio De Sica (Bicycle Thieves) or Satyajit Ray (The Apu Trilogy). There were two achievements — one of them transpired on the red carpet leading up to the Palais des Festivals. The other achievement of a more cinematic kind, was made up of two wins, one of them being the Best Actress award bestowed upon Anasuya Sengupta for The Shameless, and the second — Payal Kapadia’s Mumbai-set feature film All that we Imagine as Light, bringing home the Grand Prix, the second-most coveted prize of the festival after the Palme d’Or (Golden Palm).

Let’s tackle the offscreen entry first. Amidst the din of highfalutin Bollywood divas, who make a beeline for the Croisette year after year, only to be mercilessly trolled for their tasteless appropriation of haute couture, there was one entrant this year — an outsider, who meant business — Nancy Tyagi. It’s a name you might not have heard, unless you have been glued to Instagram reels dishing out easy hacks to fast fashion aimed at teeny-boppers. Tyagi is a 23-year-old self-taught seamstress from Uttar Pradesh, who made her debut at the red carpet, with three self-stitched ensembles which caught the eyes of fashionistas the world over.

It is tempting to dismiss Tyagi’s tale as yet another dream come true for a girl from small-town India. But her story offers fodder worthy of a biopic for Gen Z. The one-time UPSC-aspirant’s primary motivation to debut her creations at Cannes was to ensure that her mother did not need to punch in at a factory, infamous for its track record of machinery-related accidents, for a measly monthly income of Rs 6,000. As revealed in a podcast, Tyagi would have been content if she could earn about Rs 10,000 per month, which could help keep her mother out of the factory.

Tyagi also happens to be one of the millions of India’s children whose stories were forgotten in the pandemonium ensuing the pandemic. Having borrowed money to undergo in-person coaching for UPSC exams, Tyagi was stuck when the classes downed their shutters. Left with no choice, she spent the money to acquire a camera and vlogging equipment, setting the stage for the historic moment at Cannes.

India’s cinematic achievements at the festival are no less fortuitous. The Shameless, happens to be an international co-production helmed by a Bulgarian director, who had almost dropped the plan to make this live-action film in favour of an animated feature on account of financing difficulties. The film was technically ‘Made in Nepal’ as shooting in India was an expensive affair. Finally, Payal Kapadia’s film, also an international co-production, humanely chronicles the lives of two Malayali nurses, who are rendered invisible by the urban sprawl of Maximum City. The film, which earned an eight minute standing ovation at Cannes, is the first film from India to compete in the main competition since Swaham in 1994. Kapadia is also the first Indian female filmmaker to bag this honour. She had previously won the Golden Eye for Best Documentary at the Cannes in 2021 for her film A Night of Knowing Nothing. Mind you, Kapadia, an alumna of FTII, once boycotted classes, was arrested, and had her scholarship revoked on account of protesting against the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the Chairman of the Institute.

The winners this year vindicate the social responsibilities of cinema in particular, and art in general. We in India, demand an encore.