Indian (Regional) Films screened at Cannes International Film Festival
The Festival de Cannes had lifted the curtain in 1946 after a six-year-long break for the Second World War. Chetan Anand’s acclaimed Neecha Nagar among the Indian films at Cannes Film Festival 1946 earned the top award, Grand Pix du Festival International du Film, and shared it with David Lean’s Brief Encounters.
Six Indian Langauge films have been screened in Cannes International Film Festival - Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri, Oddiya, Malayalam and Tamil.
In 1952, filmmaker Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram’s Marathi biopic Amar Bhupali (The Immortal Song) represented Indian Cinema at Cannes Film Festival. It was the first Regional film to be screened in Cannes.
Satyajit Ray had 4 films screened at Cannes - Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) (1955), Parash Pathar (The Philosopher's Stone) (1958),Devi The Goddess) (1960), and Ganashatru (Enemy of the People') (1990).
Mrinal Sen had 3 films screened at Cannes - Ek Din Pratidin (And Quiet Rolls the Dawn) (1979), Kharij (The Case Is Closed) (1982) and Khandhar (The Ruins) (1983). He is the 1st Director with films in 2 Langauges (Bengali & Hindi).
Gautam Ghose had 2 films screened at Cannes - Antarjali Jatra (1987) and Gudia (1997). He is the other Director with films in 2 Langauges (Bengali & Hindi).
Six Indian Langauge films have been screened in Cannes International Film Festival - Marathi, Bengali, Manipuri, Oddiya, Malayalam and Tamil.
In 1952, filmmaker Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram’s Marathi biopic Amar Bhupali (The Immortal Song) represented Indian Cinema at Cannes Film Festival. It was the first Regional film to be screened in Cannes.
Satyajit Ray had 4 films screened at Cannes - Pather Panchali (Song of the Little Road) (1955), Parash Pathar (The Philosopher's Stone) (1958),Devi The Goddess) (1960), and Ganashatru (Enemy of the People') (1990).
Mrinal Sen had 3 films screened at Cannes - Ek Din Pratidin (And Quiet Rolls the Dawn) (1979), Kharij (The Case Is Closed) (1982) and Khandhar (The Ruins) (1983). He is the 1st Director with films in 2 Langauges (Bengali & Hindi).
Gautam Ghose had 2 films screened at Cannes - Antarjali Jatra (1987) and Gudia (1997). He is the other Director with films in 2 Langauges (Bengali & Hindi).
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- DirectorShantaram Rajaram VankudreStarsPanditrao NagarkarLalita PawarSandhyaVeteran director V. Shantaram spins this biopic about poet and musician Honaji Bala - best know for popularizing the lavani dance form and for writing the classic raga Ghanashyam sundara shirdhara, who reached the zenith of his creative powers just as the Maratha empire was collapsing to British invasion forces. The film shows not only Bala's passionate interest in lavani, but also his passionate interest in prostitutes - particularly a beautiful dancer named Tamasha (Sandhya). As the Pune court bestows Bala an award for his talents, the film shows the Maratha army getting routed by the British onslaught.In 1952, filmmaker Rajaram Vankudre Shantaram’s Amar Bhupali (The Immortal Song) represented Indian Cinema at Cannes Film Festival. A Marathi biopic on a poet and a musician Honaji Bala, Amar Bhupali is a poignant tale of the last few days of the Maratha Confederacy in the early 19th century.
The film portrays the poet as a lover of the musician and as an admirer of the Lavani dance form. Though nominated for the prestigious Grand Prix du Festival International du Film, it managed to an award for Excellence in Sound Recording. - DirectorSatyajit RayStarsKanu BannerjeeKaruna BannerjeeSubir BanerjeeImpoverished priest Harihar Ray, dreaming of a better life for himself and his family, leaves his rural Bengal village in search of work.In 1956, legendary filmmaker Satyajit Ray was the glorious face of Indian Cinema at Cannes Film Festival. Pather Panchali, the first film in Satyajit Ray’s Apu Trilogy, brought the Palme d’Or for Best Human Document to India.
One of the greatest Indian films of all time, Pather Panchali depicts the struggle of a family in rural Bengal. Ray was the first to use lyrical realism in Bengali Cinema. - DirectorSatyajit RayStarsTulsi ChakrabortyKali BannerjeeRani BalaAn underpaid middle-aged clerk finds a 'parash pathar', a stone that changes iron to gold on touch.The film was entered into the 1958 Cannes Film Festival where it competed for the Palme d'Or (Best Film).
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSharmila TagoreSoumitra ChatterjeeChhabi BiswasA young woman is deemed a goddess when her father-in-law, a rich feudal land-lord, has a dream envisioning her as an avatar of Kali.It was nominated at Cannes Film Festival for Palme d'Or (Golden Palm).
- DirectorMrinal SenStarsSatya BannerjeeGita SenMamata ShankarThe daughter of an economically middle-class family fails to return home one night.It was entered into the 1980 Cannes Film Festival.
- DirectorMrinal SenStarsAnjan DuttMamata ShankarSreela MajumdarThe servant boy, a minor, engaged in a middle class family dies mysteriously locked in a kitchen.Of all Indian films that the 1983 Cannes Film Fest screened, Mrinal Sen’s Kharij (Case is Closed) bagged the Special Jury Prize. It was a far more offbeat film than other films in competition.
Mrinal Sen exposed the exploitation of underprivileged working classes in the 1980s’ India by depicting how accidental death of an underage servant affected the family where he worked. It was a successor to social realism that Bimal Roy pioneered. - DirectorGoutam GhoseStarsVasant ChoudhuryPromode GangulyRabi GhoshA father encourages his daughter to marry a dying man in order to inherit his wealth.It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section the 1988 Cannes Film Festival.
- DirectorSatyajit RayStarsSoumitra ChatterjeeDhritiman ChatterjeeDipankar DeyIn this adaption of the Ibsen stage play, an idealistic physician discovers that the town's temple waters are dangerously contaminated. But with the community relying on the holy attraction for tourist dollars, his warnings go unheeded.Satyajit Ray’s Ganashatru, a Bengali film from Kolkata, had a special screening (out of competition) in 1989.
- DirectorAribam Syam SharmaStarsKiranmalaKangabamTombaThe harmony in a family in the Manipur Valley, is disrupted by the sudden transformation of a gentle, young wife into a violent woman prone to fits of wild visions. She then goes in search of the Meibi Guru, whom she thinks has chosen her to be initiated into the sect. Her pleasure then lies in the devotion and love through dances and music. She finds total solace in the vivid and colorful performing arts.Manipuri filmmaker Aribam Syam Sharma’s Ishanou was the first to represent Northeast Indian Cinema at Cannes in 1991.
It was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 1991 Cannes Film Festival. - DirectorSusant MisraStarsAnjana ChowdhuryDeba DasRobin DasLives of 3 women in Bhubhaneshwar.Indradhanura Chhai, an Oriya film, competed with other regional films of India for the Grand Prize at Cannes in 1995.
- DirectorMurali NairStarsVishwas NjavakkalLakshmi RamanSuhas ThayatA satire on political corruption and class injustices in Indian village culture.The 1999 Cannes screened Murli Nair’s Marana Simhasanam (The Throne of Death), a Malayalam film from Kerala. It was a milestone in the 20th century’s history of Indian Cinema at Cannes Film Festival.
Inspired by the first execution by electric chair in India, Murli Nair’s Marana Simhasanam shows how class oppression and political manipulation victimizes a poor villager in Kerala, who steals some coconuts to feed his family.
Told through relatively fewer dialogues in the script, the film touched the raw nerves of audience and walked away with the Camera d’Or at Cannes 1999. - DirectorVasanthabalanStarsPasupathyBharath SrinivasanBhavanaStory of two brothers told from the perspective of older brother who recalls his childhood memories where he runs away from home and returns after 20 years. The rest of the film is all about mental turmoil, as he is caught between the deep love showered by his younger brother who runs a successful advertising agency and his guilt of not being a responsible son or elder brother.It is the first Tamil language film screened at Cannes as part of the 2007 Cannes Film Festival under the 'Tous les Cinemas du Monde’ section.
