Why ‘Baahubali’ Bad Man’ Is Distributing Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’

On the day of release, Payal Kapadia said, “Mumbai is a conflict All we imagine as lightHis brilliant, empathetic feature debut that made history won the Grand Prix at the Cannes Film Festival in May and has finally been released domestically. Almost as an illustration of his point, the film is not set in Mumbai, where it is originally set, but in distant Kochi (the Malayalam title is Ninchathellam in Prabhaya) among 28 others, the film was in contention to be India’s official entry to the Oscars but lost to Kiran Rao. Lapata Ladies.

All we imagineIts unusual, centralized release strategy was devised by Spirit Media, Telugu star Rana Daggubati’s banner which picked up the India distribution rights after the film won at Cannes. It is also being released in the US and France.

A still from ‘All We Imagine as Light’

Fronted by Kani Kusruti and Divya Prabha, and shot by Ranbir Das, Kapadia’s film chronicles the friendship and longing of two Kerala nurses living together in Mumbai. It was the first Indian film in 30 years to compete for the Palme d’Or and the first to win the Grand Prix, the second highest honor at Cannes.

Even as Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII, Kapadia’s alma mater) tweeted their congratulations, the speech back home was electrifying: many pointed out how the country was quick to claim cinema glory at the prestigious forum, the support and infrastructure for independent films terrible. remains For example, it was said that the government has yet to release promised concessions for international co-productions All we imagine.

When asked about the rebate status, Kapadia said Hindu: “It was still in process when I heard about it but now I think it will be really soon.”

Excerpts from an interview with Kapadia and Daggubati…

Of course there were other bidders from India after the Cannes win. How does the domestic distribution deal with Spirit Media work?

Rana Daggubati: One of my partners in the company, Pratiksha Rao, was the first to understand what the film was about and he got us all to see it. We were surprised to see that such a beautiful film was made here and we didn’t know about it. It is very beautiful and Indian in its craftsmanship. It is about the Malayalis living in Bombay, Maharashtra and it is about the culture of Bombay. It’s everyone’s story yet no one’s… in some form or another. It required a different approach from the regular movies we usually see in theaters.

At Spirit Media, the idea is to find unique voices and make sure they are heard We always did it as a regional set in Telugu, because it was a small auditorium. But it is now a fun exercise for us to expand to other regions.

Payal Kapadia: Right after Kan, Pratiksha was met. We wanted to work with Spirit Media because they had a clear vision for the film. What they are doing is not easy because there is not much distribution of independent cinema in India, especially in theatres. I appreciate the collaboration between mainstream and indie because we are a collective industry. When you get support from big filmmakers and artists, creating a culture and ecosystem for independent titles is a great structural approach for us.

Payal Kapadia, second from left, winner of the grand prize for ‘All We Imagine as Light’, poses with Divya Prabha, from left, Chaya Kadam and Kani Kusruti during a photo call after the awards ceremony at the 77th International Film Festival, Cannes, southern France , Saturday, May 25, 2024 | Photo credit: Scott A. Garfitt

What are the plans to take the film more widely?

Rana: The idea, at present, in every large film-viewing industry or community, is to ensure that the film has a limited run. In other countries, people have a festival circuit to understand and get a niche auditorium together. But in India, perhaps this is the first time we are doing this exercise: moving from state to state where organically the film is going to grow. Apparently, the film has got many international distributors. We want to sync to a future date where it could be a big release and hopefully by then there will be enough hype for the film. In Kochi, on the opening day, September 21, the first two shows on BookMyShow were filled in two minutes So for you independent cinema and Kerala audience.

Also Read | Kani Kusruti says ‘All We Imagine as Light’ is a win for all the women in India who have not been on the Cannes stage

What changes are needed to build an indie-appreciative culture in India?

Rana: What’s crazy or annoying to me is that we had to hear this film after it traveled to international festivals like Cannes and Toronto. It’s funny that in India we don’t have an ecosystem to talk to each other. In the Telugu industry, distributors of independent filmmakers have three or four preview theaters to show their work. It’s small but at least that space exists. But there is not much across the country.

That was the first step where we moved out of our comfort zone from Telugu and said ok, let’s try to work cross country and make a plan. We’ve done it for commercial films, but this is the first time we’ve taken on something indie. I’m sure it will bring many, many more stories.

Payal: Earlier in India, we had funds that would support independent films. Now we don’t have that many. Hence access to funds which can be both public and private, but where it is a system, is required. That system exists in the West and it is a system that I have benefited from. It’s also good to have labs and film markets to meet potential investors and distributors. At this point, festivals are in a corner while distributors are on their own. So there should be a path where everything comes together.

Director Payal Kapadia, winner of the Grand Prix for ‘All We Imagine as Light’ poses during a photocall after the closing ceremony of the 77th Cannes Film Festival in Cannes | Photo credit: Sarah Masonier

Rana: Global festivals were first created for tourism. Cannes was created so that people from all over the world could come to one place. In America, all the movies take place in the state of California and they made the Oscars early. Without national awards we don’t have ‘a thing’ in India. Just like independent cinema needs grants, major awards need grants and that ecosystem needs grants. The success of such films has only come recently Baahubali, RRR And KGF, That we as a nation are slowly beginning to speak a language cinematically. In due course the time of independent cinema will come.

‘All We Imagine..’ was hailed as a tonal achievement. It critiques the brutality of migrant existence in Mumbai and also captures the more subtle shades.

Payal: For me, the city is a contradiction. It has plus points which is why many of us move here. For women, especially, Mumbai is a little easier to travel to and offers a lot of possibilities. For example, why do so many people come to work in the film industry? But Mumbai is also scary at times. To survive every day, to travel by train on the Harbor Line… which would surely flood in the monsoons. I wanted to represent all these anomalies in the film. It’s a city where I was born, even though I’m always outside. You notice your surroundings a lot more when you leave and come back.

Rana: I have been up in Bombay for the past 10 years. It feels like home, but it’s not home in some crazy way. I have shot here more than I did in Hyderabad. There are things that never ‘stand still’ due to extremely high energies. Not the life of a lazy Nizam back home. Then again, Mumbai is the real land of opportunity, and the smartest people I’ve met in my life are from Bombay. Enthusiasm, energy, tenacity to do something—they have it.

Chaya Kadam, Ridhu Harun, Kani Kusruti, Payal Kapadia and Divya Prabha attend the ‘All We Imagine As Light’ red carpet at the 77th Annual Cannes Film Festival at Palais des Festivals on May 23, 2024 in Cannes, France. Photo credit: Christy Sparrow

Payal, what is your favorite mainstream Indian film? And Rana, your favorite indie walla…

Payal: I really like Karan Johar’s latest movie, Rocky or Rani is a love story. I enjoyed Amitabh Bachchan’s Angry Young Men films, especially growing up to give. I used to watch all the films of Govinda No-1. Ranjith’s feet For the last time ever and Nagaraj Manjul SairatFrom recent years, also great mainstream films.

Rana: Sairat It was definitely independent when I first saw it (laughter). There is a Telugu film, Kancharapalem (2018), which we have had the opportunity to release. It is set in a small town near Vizag and the director has cast around 80 non-professional actors from there. Malayalam cinema produces delightful slice-of-cinema and this is the cinema we are quite used to. In Tamil, by Vetrimaran Visarnai (2015) is a hard-edged, hard-hitting film I’ve seen. So yeah, I’m not really that indie. A worse person than me Bahubalifriend