Anasuya Sengupta Makes History at Cannes: First Indian Actor to Win Best Actress

The 77th Cannes Film Festival taking place in France, has been a significant year for India. Numerous Indian celebrities, from renowned actors to aspiring artists/ influencers have made their presence felt on the red carpet. Apart from the film screenings, several Indian films and actors were nominated in various categories at the festival.

Anasuya Sengupta has received the honorary Un Certain Regard Prize for Best Actress for her role in The Shameless.

“Un Certain Regard” nominee at Cannes 2024, The Shameless is a romantic crime thriller by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov. The movie centers on Devika, an Indian sex worker. The film explores Devika’s journey as she conforms to her past and challenges the traditions that bound her to sex work. A forbidden love affair with Renuka becomes her path to freedom.

The film boasts a diverse cast of Indian and Nepali actors, including Auroshikha Dey, Omara, Anasuya Sengupta, and Mita Vashisht.

Anasuya Sengupta, a native of Kolkata and best known for her production design work has created history by becoming the first Indian to win the award.

In a conversation with The Kolkata, Anasuya, who has previously worked as a production designer in Srijit Mukherjee’s “Forget Me Not” and “Masaba Masaba”, reminisced about the moment she learned her film had been selected and nominated for the Un Certain Regard category at the 77th Cannes Film Festival. She shared, “Konstantin sent me a link to the press conference where the official selections for Cannes were being announced. The moment our film’s name was called out, I was so thrilled that I jumped from my seat!”

Interestingly, Bojanov’s request for an audition tape which was a result of their online Facebook interaction, served as a turning point in Anasuya’s acting career.

The festival, which began on the 14th of May, will run until the 25th of May.

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