6 Indian films that were selected for the Palme d’Or at the Cannes Film Festival before ‘All We Imagine as Right’

Satyajit Ray’s Devi, Mrinal Sen’s Khaliji (Image: IMDb)

Two nurses from Kerala have made a historic return to Indian cinema at the Cannes Film Festival, breaking the long jinx of Indian films in the Palme d’Or race.

Prabha and Anu, the central characters in Mumbai-born director Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light, are competing in India for the first time in 30 years in a competition previously dominated by masters such as Satyajit Ray and Mrinal Sen. I took him to Cannes.

More about All We Imagine as Right

All We Imagine as Right is an Indo-French co-production that tells the story of Prabha, a nurse who receives a shocking surprise from her estranged husband. Meanwhile, her roommate and best friend Anu seeks privacy to be with her lover. Eventually, the two embark on a road trip to a beach town, where they discover freedom in which their desires and longings unfold.

For Payal to take home the Palme d’Or at Cannes this year, she will need to beat out the best films in the world. That list includes Francis Ford Coppola (“Megalopolis”), Sean Baker (“Anora”), Yorgos Lanthimos (“A Kind of Kindness”), David Cronenberg (“Shrouds”), and Andrea Arnold. (The Birds), Paul Schrader (O Canada), and Jacques Audiard (Emilia Perez). Paulo Sorrentino (Partenope) etc.

Did you know that only six Indian films have made it to the Palme d’Or section at the Cannes Film Festival?

The first Indian documentary to be nominated for the Palme d’Or was Gotma the Buddha in 1957. Although it didn’t win the Best Picture award, it did win the Special Award for Best Director (Rajbanth Khanna). The following year, Satyajit Ray’s Palash Patthar was nominated in the coveted category.

This 1958 Bengali fantasy comedy was Ray’s first film outside of the popular Apu trilogy. The film, adapted from a similarly titled short story by Parashuram (Rajsekhar Basu), provided an insight into Ray’s comedic talent. The story revolves around a middle-class office worker who accidentally discovers a stone that has the ability to turn objects into gold. However, Palash Patar could not win.

Four years later, in 1962, another Satyajit Ray film, Devi, was nominated for the Palme d’Or. This Bengali Hindu drama marked the showbiz debut of Sharmila Tagore alongside Soumitra Chatterjee. Inspired by Prabhat Kumar Mukhopadhyay’s short story, the film explores the worship of women and young girls as a form of Goddess Durga or Kali. This tradition is more commonly seen in Nepal as the Kumari tradition. Devi also did not take home the laurel wreath.

In 1983, Mrinal Sen’s Khaliji was nominated in two categories. The film, which is based on Ramapada Chaudhary’s 1974 novel of the same name, has already been a huge hit at the box office. Although it did not win the Palme d’Or, it did win the coveted Jury Prize at the Cannes Film Festival.

Satyajit Ray was the last nominee in the category in 1984 when his film Ghare Baire was nominated. This romantic drama won the National Film Award for Best Feature Film in Bengali and starred Soumitra Chatterjee, Victor Banerjee, Jennifer Kendall and Swatirekha Chatterjee. Unfortunately, Ray came home empty-handed this time as well.

The last time India was nominated for the Palme d’Or was in 1994. Directed by Shaji N. Karun, Swaham was submitted to Cannes for its interesting story. This Malayalam drama starred Ashwini, Venumani Vishnu, Muleneji and others. Swaham too could not break the jinx of India winning the Palme d’Or.

In fact, if Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light wins at Cannes, it will be India’s first ever Palme d’Or.