India has had a long-standing association with the Cannes Film Festival. Works of great Indian filmmakers, like Satyajit Ray, Mrinal Sen, and Mira Nair, have been screened at the prestigious festival in the past. This year will witness the 76th instalment of the festival from 16th to 27th May.
Speaking of the Indian representation at Cannes, we might see actor Anushka Sharma, Miss World Manushi Chillar, and content creator Dolly Singh making their Red Carpet debut this year. Among the films, Anurag Kashyap’s Kennedy, Kanu Behl’s Agra, and Aribam Syam Sharma’s award-winning film from 1990, Ishanou, have been selected for screening in different sections.
Director Anurag Kashyap is not new to the film festival. Over the years, several films by him have made it to the screening. Take a look:
1. Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 1 (2012)
Gangs of Wasseypur premiered at the 65th Cannes Film Festival in May 2012 before its release in June of the same year. The old reports claim the film’s premiere met a full house in the hall with 800 seating capacity. Director Kashyap and music director Sneha Khanwalkar were joined by the film’s star cast, including Huma Qureshi, Manoj Bajpayee, Richa Chadda, Reema Sen, and Nawazuddin Siddiqui attended the screening. Reportedly, the film premiered as part of the Cannes Film Festival’s Directors’ Fortnight section.
2. Gangs of Wasseypur – Part 2 (2012)
Both the films in the series premiered in May 2012 at the 65th Cannes Film Festival. Originally shot as a single film, the film was divided into two parts for release in Indian theatres. The first part was released in June, while the second part graced the screen in August 2012.
3. Ugly (2013)
In 2013, Kashyap’s Ugly was selected for screening at the 66th Cannes Film Festival. The thriller starring Ronit Roy, Tejaswini Kolhapure and Rahul Bhat received a mixed response from critics.
The same year, Kashyap also received the French honour Chevalier dans l’ordre des Arts et Lettres‘ (Knight of the Order of Arts and Letters) for his notable efforts in the promotion of Indian cinema in the world.
4. Bombay Talkies (2013)
Bombay Talkies, an anthology film comprising four short films spearheaded by Karan Johar, Dibakar Banerjee, Zoya Akhtar and Anurag Kashyap, was also released at the 66th Cannes Film Festival in 2013. Kashyap directed the short movie Murabba, starring Vineet Kumar Singh and Sudhir Pandey, with Amitabh Bachchan in a cameo role.
5. Raman Raghav 2.0 (2016)
The 69th Cannes Film Festival witnessed the premiere of Kashyap’s Raman Raghav 2.0 in the Directors’ Fortnight section. Internationally released as Psycho Raman, the dark neo-noir psychological thriller film based on the life of the notorious serial killer Raman Raghav was screened to a packed house.
“The story could have turned into one huge cliche, and there are genre elements that are numbingly familiar, was it not for the exceptionally scary performance of Nawazuddin Siddiqui in the role of the villainous, demented serial killer Ramanna”, noted The Hollywood Reporter in the review.
6. Kennedy (2023)
Kennedy is Kashyap’s upcoming neo-noir thriller film starring Rahul Bhatt and Sunny Leone. It will premiere at the 76th Cannes Film Festival as part of the Midnight Screenings section.
“It’s a film and genre I always wanted to explore. It’s more polar than noir, inspired by crime writing of Patrick Manchette and his comic book collaborations with Jacques Tardi, and the cinema of Melville”, Kashyap reportedly said while talking about the film.
Apart from his directorial ventures, Kashyap produced/co-produced films like The Lunchbox (2013), Udaan (2010), Peddlers (2012), and Monsoon Shootout (2013), which were also screened at the prestigious festival in different sections.
Also Read: Anurag Kashyap’s ‘Kennedy’ to Have a Midnight Screening At This Year’s Cannes Festival
