Bollywood celebrities, including Kiara Advani, Swara Bhasker, Richa Chadha, Ali Fazal, Radhika Apte, Anurag Kashyap, and Bhumi Pednekar, among others, congratulated Payal Kapadia after she won the Grand Prix award at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival for her drama All We Imagine as Light. It was the first Indian film in three decades and the first by an Indian woman director to grace the festival’s main competition. (Also Read | Cannes Film Festival: All We Imagine As Light scripts history, becomes first Indian film to win Grand Prix)
Kiara, Bhumi, Swara, Radhika laud All We Imagine as Light
Taking to her Instagram Stories, Kiara shared a post by Festival de Cannes. She wrote, “Congratulations (trophy and red heart emojis).” Bhumi Pednekar re-shared MAMI Mumbai Film Festival’s post on her Instagram Stories. She simply wrote, “Bravo (clapping hands emoji).” Taking to her Instagram Stories, Radhika Apte wrote, “Huge congratulations to the beautiful and incredible people behind this film!! This is just perfect.” Sharing a post, Swara Bhasker said on her Instagram, “Amazing!”
Aditi Rao Hydari wrote a long post on Instagram, “At a very perplexing time in history where only the noise from my incredible county seems to get amplified, here is an independent film by a first-time director that wins the Grand Prix honour at @festivaldecannes. Please take a moment and let us all stand and applaud this monumental achievement. This is the crowning glory of the fight for good Cinema in India. It may happen again, but not without the impact of #Payalkapadia’s spectacular achievement. So proud, so grateful. My love and congratulations to the entire team! India in all Her glory, and on Her own terms… What a moment!”
Tovino Thomas also penned a note on Instagram. “Wow!! what an incredible achievement for Indian cinema! ‘All We Imagine As Light’ scripts history, becomes first Indian film to win Grand Prix at Cannes Film Festival. Take a bow!!”
Shekhar Kapur tweeted, “Payal Kapadia’s ‘ll we imagine is light won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival! .. what an honour for her and her team. It seems to be India’s year at Cannes. This is the 3rd, but the biggest award to Indian Cinema this year.”
Mini, Soni, Saba talk about Payal Kapadia’s drama
Mini Mathur posted a clip on her Instagram Stories from the event as Payal won the award. She wrote, “The Grand prix!! After 30 years..an Indian film competes for the highest honour at @cannes_filmfestival!! A first win for a female director. And it took #PayalKapadia and three incredible women actors to tell this story #allweimagineaslight.” She also tagged the actors.
Saba Azad shared a post by Brut, along with clapping emojis. She also penned a long note. Saba wrote, “Fund good cinema!! Support independent filmmakers, support actors who give themselves wholly to the craft and aren’t just in it for the frills- put your money behind talent!! And real talent may not mean the most famous or most familiar!! There is a kind of Indian cinema that deserves our attention and support, and it’s shining the world over!! Let’s give it the respect it deserves, back home too (red heart emojis).”
Soni Razdan also reposted Festival de Cannes’s Instagram post. She wrote, “OMG. This is incredible! Huge congratulations, Payal Kapadia and team (clapping hands emojis).”
Richa, Ali, Anurag, Sujoy laud film
On X, Richa Chadha wrote, “HISTORIC!!! Just beaming at this news! Congratulations Payal Kapadia, Ranabir Das, Kani Kusruti, Divya Prabha, Hridhu Haroon, Chhaya Kadam and the whole team of ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT! Just overjoyed! Independent filmmaking at any point of time is hard, but now is actively scuttled, and then to win a GRAND PRIX! Ooof. Just thrilled.”
Her husband-actor Ali Fazal tweeted, “OH MANNNNNNNNNN, its happened !!! YASSSSSS.” Film director Sujoy Ghosh said in a tweet, “YEEEEEESSSSSSS!!!! Well done payal and zico … so so so so proud of you…” Anurag Kashyap shared a screenshot of the announcement and wrote on Instagram, “Congratulations Payal Kapadia .. you’re the hope and the inspiration ..”
About All We Imagine as Light, Payal Kapadia
All We Imagine as Light marks Payal’s directorial debut feature. A post on Instagram by the Festival de Cannes read, “Le Grand Prix est attribue a ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT de PAYAL KAPADIA. The Jury Prize goes to ALL WE IMAGINE AS LIGHT by PAYAL KAPADIA.#Cannes2024 #Palmares #Awards #GrandPrix.” Receiving thunderous applause, the film’s screening garnered an eight-minute standing ovation.
Set against the backdrop of a bustling city, All We Imagine as Light is the story of Prabha, a nurse, whose life takes an unexpected turn when she receives a mysterious gift from her estranged husband. Accompanied by her roommate Anu, the duo takes on a journey to a coastal town, where the mystical forest serves as a sanctuary for their dreams.
All We Imagine as Light stands as an Indo-French collaboration, co-produced by Petit Chaos from France and Chalk and Cheese Films from India. Before this, Payal won the Golden Eye award at Cannes for her documentary A Night of Knowing Nothing.