Cannes 2024: Anasuya Sengupta Makes India Proud with Historic Acting Win

Anasuya Sengupta, an Indian actor, made history by winning the Best Actress award at a part of the Cannes Film Festival called Un Certain Regard. She won for her acting in a movie called ‘Shameless,’ directed by Constantin Bojanov from Bulgaria. The movie is about a woman who works in the sex industry in Delhi. She runs away from a brothel after hurting a policeman.

Sengupta, originally from Kolkata, made history by becoming the first Indian actor to win the top acting prize in this category. This is a huge deal for India at the big film festival. When she accepted the award on Friday night, Sengupta said she wanted to dedicate it 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 expressed.

Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov made ‘The Shameless’, and it was shown for the first time at Cannes on May 17. The movie also features actors like Mita Vashisht, Tanmay Dhanania, Rohit Kokate, and Auroshikha Dey in important roles.

The movie shows a grim world of exploitation and suffering. Two sex workers form a bond and aim to break free. Sengupta plays Renuka, the main character. Renuka escapes from a Delhi brothel after a violent act. She finds refuge among sex workers in northern India. There, she meets Devika, a young girl facing a similar fate.

Anasuya, known for her work as a production designer in Mumbai, now lives in Goa. She worked on the set design for the Netflix series ‘Masaba Masaba.’ Originally from Kolkata, she studied at Jadavpur University. Anasuya began her acting career in 2009 in a Bengali rock musical directed by Anjan Dutt. After moving to Mumbai in 2009 to join her brother, who worked in films, she transitioned to the art department due to lack of acting opportunities.

At the Cannes Film Festival, the Un Certain Regard Prize was awarded to the film ‘Black Dog,’ directed by Chinese filmmaker Hu Guan.Additionally, Boris Lojkine’s film ‘The Story Of Souleymane’ received the Jury Prize at Cannes.Overall, both movies’ represent the diverse range of talent and storytelling showcased at the Cannes Film Festival.