Anasuya Sengupta becomes First Indian to Win Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival
The Bengali actress has etched her name in the annals of Cannes Film Festival history.
It looks like Anasuya Sengupta has caught the eye, tickled the fancy and won the hearts of the Cannes Film Festival electorate. Marking a proud first for India, Sengupta was voted the Best Actress at the ongoing Cannes Film Festival. The production designer-turned-actor won the prestigious award for her gritty and realistic turn in the Hindi language film The Shameless. This new release is an entrant in the film extravaganza’s Un Certain Regard category.
Not to be confused with her author and activist namesake, this Anasuya has turned out to be a celebrity in her own right. Relatively new to her role in front of the camera, the young lady has apparently dazzled the Cannes judges for delivering a daring and noteworthy performance. Under the capable hand of award-winning Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov, Anasuya portrays a prostitute who flees a murder scene at a Delhi brothel to find sanctuary in a community of sex workers, where she strikes up a romance with Devika (played by newcomer Omara Shetty)
While accepting the coveted trophy, Anasuya paid tribute to the LGBT community worldwide, saying one doesn’t “have to be queer to fight for equality” and that we all “need to be very, very decent human-beings.” Sengupta who has carved a niche for herself as production designer on movies like Chippa (2019), Switchh (2021) and Good Morning Sunshine (2023), has evidently embarked on an auspicious change in her film career. With The Shameless and a supporting role in 2009’s Madly Bangalee under her belt, it seems this dusky-complexioned and attractive actress is set to make more social statements on the silver screen.
