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EXCLUSIVE| Anasuya Sengupta on creating history at Cannes, lifting Best Actress: I shakily walked to the stage
In an India exclusive interview, actor Anasuya Sengupta talks to HT City on creating history at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.
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'And life changed overnight'. This fits Anasuya Sengupta's story so perfectly. Scripting history at the prestigious 77th Cannes film festival, she became the first Indian actor to win the Best Actress award at the Un Certain Regard segment for her role in the film The Shameless. It was directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov.
Speaking to HT City exclusively after the win, she says she is too overwhelmed. "I couldn’t believe it was happening! But as I shakily walked to the stage and stood with artists I have admired, my heroes, it felt oddly natural to be welcomed with so much authenticity and love by them. I am so grateful to the jury for seeing my hard work," says Sengupta as she boards her flight back home to India.
The entire country has sat up to take notice of the win, and congratulatory messages have been pouring in since Saturday. Actors such as Ranveer Singh, Alia Bhatt, Arjun Kapoor and many more have been congratulating her and the film. "I am amazed at the love pouring in from so many back home, it makes me proud to make everyone proud. I am literally taxi-ing in the plane now on my way home to my family, I just can’t wait to be with them," she gushes. The Shameless follows a sex worker who flees a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman. Sengupta dedicated her award “to the queer community".
Sengupta's journey till this point of glory has not been an easy one. Born in Kolkata, she graduated with an English degree, and soon ventured into showbiz. Her career began with a supporting role in the 2009 film Madly Bangalee, and shifted to Mumbai in 2013. She then did production designing for a decade as well, also being a part of the hit Masaba Masaba.
The Shameless happened for her in 2020. "I auditioned for it, my director Konstantin had reached out. It was a lead role," she reveals. Remembering her efforts in the 15 years it took for her to reach this stage, Sengupta says, "I have worked so hard for so long, and I’m here to keep doing it more and more. It all feels worth it when I look back, and all the pieces are wonderfully coming together for me finally."
