At the 2024 Cannes Film Festival, Konstantin Bojanov`s film The Shameless premiered in the Un Certain Regard section. The movie stars newcomers Anasuya Sengupta and Omara Shetty. Both actors attended the red carpet event and the photocall session for the film.
Desi divas take over 2024 Cannes Film Festival!
Anasuya has acted in Anjan Dutta’s Madly Bangalee (2009) and worked as a production designer on films like Sanjeev Sharma’s Saat Uchakkey (2016) and Srijit Mukherji’s Forget Me Not from the anthology Ray (2021). Omara, on the other hand, starred in Phone Bhoot (2022) alongside Katrina Kaif.
As per the festival website, The Shameless is about Renuka, who flees a Delhi brothel after killing a policeman. “In the dead of night, Renuka escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death. She takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India, where she meets Devika, a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution. Their bond develops into a forbidden romance. Together, they embark on a perilous journey to escape the law and forge their path to freedom.”
Renuka is played by Anasuya Sengupta whereas Omara plays Devika.
About India at 2024 Cannes Film Festival
Friday evening saw a French theatre in Cannes reverberating with the magic of Indian storytelling – courtesy of Shyam Benegal`s classic `Manthan`. Starring late Smita Patil and actor Naseeruddin Shah, `Manthan`, which was inspired by the pioneering milk cooperative movement of Verghese Kurien, who led `Operation Flood` to transform India from a milk-deficient country to the world`s biggest milk producer and is credited for creating the billion dollar brand `Amul`, created waves at the ongoing 77th edition of Cannes Film Festival with its premiere.
The screening of `Manthan` was attended by Naseeruddin Shah, his wife Ratna Pathak Shah, Prateik Babbar, actor and son of Smita Patil, Nirmala Kurien, daughter of the legendary Dr Verghese Kurien, Father of the White Revolution, Anita Patil Deshmukh and Manya Patil Seth, sisters of Smita Patil, and Dr Jayen Mehta, Managing Director, Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd., the producers of the film.
At the French Riviera while talking to Brut India about his feelings about the film`s screening, nearly 50 years later, Shah said, “It felt unreal to me. I have always seen the red carpet ceremony either on video or in photographs. I have seen all these lovely ladies parading themselves in their gorgeous costumes. I never dreamt I`d be a part of that one day. So my wife and I decided to keep it as simple as possible. And of course, it was a terribly emotional experience. Because there were so many friends who were in the film. Girish was a friend and my teacher. He was the director of FTII. Smita was a dear friend and so was Amrish. None of them are there any longer. So it was a moving experience, I could hardly hold back the tears. And I find that the film has really stood the test of time.”
