Actress Chhaya Kadam is on a roll this year with back to back acclaimed performances in the films Laapataa Ladies and Madgaon Express. Her film All We Imagine as Light recently created history at the 77th Cannes Film Festival as it secured the Grand Prix win.
In a recent interview, she reacted to this huge honor. Chhaya also recalled her earlier struggle when film reviews would not even mention her name.
Chhaya Kadam on All We Imagine as Light winning the Grand Prix at Cannes 2024
Filmmaker Payal Kapadia and All We Imagine as Light actresses Kani Kusruti, Chhaya Kadam, and Divya Prabha, recently graced the awards ceremony of the Cannes Film Festival 2024. They accepted the Grand Prix, the second-highest honor at the festival.
In a recent conversation with the Hindustan Times, Chhaya Kadam expressed her happiness to have won an award straight away, given that it was the first Indian film to be selected for the festival's main competition section in 30 years. She called AWIAL a story of women, with roots in the homeland. She added, “For a subject like that to get selected here… I have no words.”
Chhaya also revealed an interesting moment, saying how people in the French city recognized her as her character Manju Mai from Kiran Rao’s film Laapataa Ladies.
Chhaya Kadam recalls how film reviews used to miss out on mentioning her name
In the same interview, Chhaya Kadam also talked about her initial struggle, stating, “Earlier, my struggle was to get work; now it is for good work. She further shared, "Earlier, film reviews would miss out on mentioning my name, even if my character was important.” The actress admitted to feeling bad about it but revealed that she had resolved to work so hard that reviews would have to include her name.
Earlier, in her acceptance speech at Cannes 2024, Payal Kapadia extended her gratitude to actresses Kani Kusruti, Chhaya Kadam, and Divya Prabha, saying, “It's three women who have given me so much and really contributed to the film like a family and made it their own. So, thank you, ladies.”
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