Cannes 2024: Anasuya Sengupta becomes first Indian actor to win Best Actress at prestigious film festival

Indian actor Anasuya Sengupta, one of the lead stars of ‘The Shameless’, has created history by bagging the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard category at the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.

India's Anusuya's historic feat at Cannes 2024

Sengupta, who hails from Kolkata, is the first Indian artiste to win the category's top acting honour, marking a significant milestone for India at the prestigious film gala. In her acceptance speech on Friday night, Sengupta dedicated the award to “to the queer community and other marginalised communities" for bravely fighting for their rights all around the world. “You don’t have to be queer to fight for equality, you don’t have to be colonised to know that colonising is pathetic — we just need to be very, very decent human beings," the actor said.

About ‘The Shameless’

Directed by Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov, ‘The Shameless’ had its premiere at Cannes on May 17. ‘The Shameless’ also stars Mita Vashisht, Tanmay Dhanania, Rohit Kokate and Auroshikha Dey in key roles.

‘The Shameless’ Plot

The film forays into a dark, disturbing world of exploitation and misery in which two sex workers, one who bears the scars of her line of work, the other a young girl days away from ritual initiation, forge a bond and seek to throw off their shackles. Sengupta plays the central character of Renuka, who escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death and takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India, where she meets Devika (Omara), a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution.

About Cannes Film Festival 2024

The 77th annual Cannes Film Festival kicked off on May 14. The festival will conclude on Saturday. Besides Anasuya Sengupta, Indian director Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine as Light’ is also contending for Palme d’Or. It is India’s first film to compete for the top prize in Cannes Film Festival.

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