'Kennedy' to 'Agra': Indian films premiering at Cannes Film Festival
The 76th edition of the Cannes Film Festival is fast approaching. Ahead of it, Indian films set to be premiered at the event are generating significant buzz. The prestigious festival will take place from Tuesday (May 16) to May 27, with Spain being the Country of Honor. This year's lineup includes Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy and Kanu Behl's Agra, among others. Here's a detailed look.
'Kennedy'
Renowned filmmaker Kashyap's upcoming Kennedy has been selected as part of the Midnight Screenings section at this year's Cannes festival. Reportedly a police noir film, Kennedy traces the life of an insomniac ex-cop presumed to be dead but is still operating for the corrupt system and looking for redemption. The film features actors Rahul Bhat, Sunny Leone, and Abhilash Thapliyal in the lead roles.
'Kennedy' is Kashyap's first narrative feature in Cannes official selection
With Kennedy, Kashyap finally has a feature film directed by him in the Cannes official selection. Many of his films, including Gangs of Wasseypur, Ugly, and Raman Raghav 2.0, have premiered in the Directors' Fortnight segment but never made the official selection cut. To recall, Indian films co-produced by Kashyap—Udaan (2010), Monsoon Shootout (2013), The Lunchbox (2013), and Masaan (2015)—featured in the official selection.
'Agra'
Behl's Agra is set to have its world premiere at the Cannes Directors' Fortnight section. Agra features an ensemble cast led by Rahul Roy—who is making a comeback after a lengthy hiatus. Other members include Priyanka Bose, Mohit Agarwal, Sonal Jha, and Aanchal Goswami. It is reportedly a thought-provoking film that explores sexual dynamics within a family and the societal fractures in modern India.
'Ishanou,' only restored Indian film to screen at Cannes
The 1990 Meitei-language film Ishanou by Manipuri director Aribam Syam Sharma has been selected for the Cannes Classic Section of the 2023 Cannes festival—a segment celebrating restored versions of all-time classics. Mumbai-based Film Heritage Foundation has restored the film; its screening is slated for Friday (May 19). Previously, Indian filmmaker Govindan Aravindan's 1978 film Thampu's restored version was screened at the 2022 Cannes Classics.
FTII alumnus Yudhajit Basu's 'Nehemich' also part of Cannes
Yudhajit Basu, an alumnus of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), Pune, became the third student of the prestigious institute to be selected for Cannes's La Cinef category for film school productions after Payal Kapadia's Afternoon Clouds (2017) and Ashmita Guha Neogi's CatDog (2020). Basu's Nehemich—a 23-minute-long Marathi film shot in Maharashtra's Satara and Pune—explores superstitions surrounding menstruating women in rural India.
