The most prestigious Cannes Film Festival, has returned for its 76th edition this year. The invitation-only festival is going to take place between 16 May to 27 May at the Palais des Festivals et des Congrès, France. Unlike the previous glorious years, surprisingly no Indian film has made it to the Cannes 2023 nominations list including the prestigious Palme d’Or category this year.
While we might have missed making a mark nomination-wise, many Indian films are going to be screened at the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Anurag Kashyap’s film, Kennedy, will be screened at the film festival under its midnight screening section. Nehemich by FTII student Yudhajit Basu has been selected for a screening under the Cinéfondation section. The 1990 film titled The Chosen One (Ishanou), helmed by Aribam Syam Sharma, will be screened under the Cannes Classics section. Agra by Kanu Behl has been selected to be screened under the Directors’ Fortnight section. Meenakshi Shedde, Indian journalist and festival programmer of Berlinale, is also a part of the International Critics’ Week jury for Cannes 2023.
While it certainly is crushing to know that there will be no Palme d’Or winners from India this year, our rich history suggests that we are very much capable of achieving it in the coming future. The Palme d’Or, introduced in 1955, is the highest prize awarded at the Cannes Film Festival, and Indian movies have often emerged as winners in the past. From Neecha Nagar (1946) to Kharij (1982), many Indian movies have either won or have been nominated for the prestigious Palme d’Or award. Let’s take a look at the films that represented India under this category.
Indian films that won or were nominated for Palme d’Or
Indian cinema has garnered immense recognition at the Cannes Film Festival ever since its inception. The 1946 social-realistic film by Chetan Anand titled Neecha Nagar became the first Indian film to gain recognition at Cannes. It was awarded Palme d’Or at the first Cannes Film Festival. Here are other films that were either nominated or were the winner of the Palme d’Or award.
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Directed by: Chetan Anand,
Cast: Uma Anand, Rafiq Anwar, Kamini Kaushal, Murad, Rafi Peer, Hamid Butt, Zohra Sehgal
Release date: 29 September 1946 (Cannes Film Festival)
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Won
Synopsis: The film is an expressionist take on the difference between the rich and poor in society. The film was a pioneering effort to showcase social realism in Indian cinema. It paved the way for many such parallel cinema films by other directors in the future.
More about the film: It is the only Indian film to be ever awarded a Palme d’Or. Ironically, this film was never released in India.
Image Credit: IMDb
Directed by: V. Shantaram
Cast: Panditrao Nagarkar, Sandhya, Lalita Pawar
Release date: 1 January 1952
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Nominated
Synopsis: The story revolves around Honaji Bala, a simple cow herder and how he becomes a legendary bard because of his intrinsic gift of poetry. The film is set in the last days of the Maratha Confederacy of the early 19th Century.
More about the film: The film is an ode to the saffron flag of Marathas, calling on people to fight against the foreign enemy.
Image Credit: IMDb
Directed by: Raj Kapoor,
Cast: Raj Kapoor, Prithviraj Kapoor, Nargis, Leela Chitnis, K. N. Singh.
Release date: 14 December 1951
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Nominated
Synopsis: The plot centres around the intertwining lives of a poor thief Raj (played by Raj Kapoor), his childhood friend named Rita (played by Nargis), and Judge Raghunath (played by Prithviraj Kapoor) who is unaware that Raj is his son.
More about the film: The film is estimated to have sold over 200 million tickets overseas, including more than 100 million in China and about 100 million in the Soviet Union.
Image Credit: IMDb
Directed by: Rajbans Khanna
Release date: 1 January 1957
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Nominated
Synopsis: The documentary explored Buddha’s journey from being a humble priest to becoming a religious icon.
Image Credit: IMDb
Directed by: Satyajit Ray
Cast: Tulsi Chakrabarti, Ranibala Devi, Kali Banerjee, Jahar Roy, Gangapada Basu
Release date: 17 January 1958
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Nominated
Synopsis: This Bengali fantasy comedy film is centred on a middle-class clerk who accidentally discovers a stone that can turn other objects into gold.
More about the film: The film is adapted from a short story of the same name by Parasuram (Rajsekhar Basu).
Image Credit: IMDb
Directed by: M. S. Sathyu
Cast: Balraj Sahni, Farooq Shaikh, Dinanath Zutshi, Badar Begum
Release date: 1974
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Nominated
Synopsis: Set in Agra, Uttar Pradesh, the story centres around a North Indian Muslim businessman and his family’s plight after the 1947 partition of India. In the harsh months after Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination in 1948, Salim Mirza deals with the dilemma of whether to move to Pakistan, just like many of his relatives, or to stay back in India.
More about the film: The film marked the end of Balraj Sahni’s film career, who died before its release.
Image Credit: IMDb
Directed by: Mrinal Sen
Cast: Anjan Dutt, Mamata Shankar, Sreela Majumdar
Release date: May 13, 1983 (Cannes Film Festival)
Won or nominated for Palme d’Or: Nominated
Synopsis: The movie narrates the story of a middle-class family whose child servant, Palan, is mysteriously found dead in their kitchen. The film revolves around the family’s efforts to pacify the grieving father of the dead child.
More about the film: The film is based on a novel by Ramapada Chowdhury.
Image Credit: IMDb
