Anasuya Sengupta creates history at Cannes, becomes 1st Indian to win Un Certain Regard best actress
Cannes, May 25: Anasuya Sengupta, one of the lead stars of Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov's Hindi-language movie "The Shameless", has created history by bagging the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Sengupta, who hails from Kolkata, is the first Indian artiste to win the category's top acting honour, marking a significant milestone for India at the prestigious film gala. The festival will conclude on Saturday.
In her acceptance speech on Friday night, Sengupta dedicated the award to the "queer community and other marginalised communities" for bravely fighting for their rights all over the world.
"You don’t have to be queer to fight for equality, you don’t have to be colonised to know that colonising is pathetic — we just need to be very, very decent human beings," the actor said.
The win at Cannes is a landmark moment in Sengupta's career. She earlier played a supporting part in 2009 Bengali movie "Madly Bangalee", directed by Anjan Dutt, and worked as a production designer after shifting to Mumbai.
"The Shameless", which had its premiere at Cannes on May 17, forays into a dark, disturbing world of exploitation and misery in which two sex workers, one who bears the scars of her line of work, the other a young girl days away from ritual initiation, forge a bond and seek to throw off their shackles.
Sengupta plays the central character of Renuka, who escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death and takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India, where she meets Devika (Omara), a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution.
The actor celebrated her win on Instagram, where she posted pictures with Un Certain Regard jury head, Canadian director Xavier Dolan, and German-Luxembourg star Vicky Krieps.
"I won, guys, held so lovingly by my heroes. I’m here for you, to be the one you need THANK YOU @festivaldecannes," Sengupta wrote in the caption.
"The Shameless" also stars Mita Vashisht, Tanmay Dhanania, Rohit Kokate and Auroshikha Dey in key roles.
British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri's "Santosh" was part of the Un Certain Regard category as well but didn't win any award.
The Un Certain Regard, which runs parallel to the festival's main competition, aims to highlight new trends, new paths and new countries of cinema.
The top prize of the segment went to "Black Dog" by Chinese filmmaker Gou Zhen, while French director Boris Lojkine's "L’Histoire de Souleymane" bagged the Jury Prize.
Abou Sangre of "L’Histoire de Souleymane" won the best actor trophy for his performance in the movie.
The best director trophy was shared by Roberto Minervini of "The Damned" and Rungano Nyoni for "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl".
Tawfik Alzaidi of Saudi Arabia received a Special Mention for his first feature film "Norah" and the Youth Award went to Louise Courvoisier for her debut movie "Holy Cow".
The Un Certain Regard jury was chaired by Dolan and included French-Senegalese director Maimouna Doucoure, Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir and American writer Todd McCarthy.
Several Indian celebrities including filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Hansal Mehta, actors Arjun Kapoor, Radhika Apte and Adarsh Gourav congratulated Sengupta on her win.
Akhtar shared a news story about Sengupta's win on her Instagram Stories and wrote, "Congratulations."
Mehta wrote, "Congratulations on your win at Cannes 2024."
"This deserves to be celebrated along with the film," Kapoor posted.
Apte, whose film "Sister Midnight" was screened at the film gala as part of sidebar section Directors' Fortnight, said on Instagram, "Absolutely incredible."
"Historic day for India! Congratulation for the win," Gourav said on his Instagram Stories.
Cannes, May 25 (PTI) Anasuya Sengupta, one of the lead stars of Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov's Hindi-language movie "The Shameless", has created history by bagging the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Sengupta, who hails from Kolkata, is the first Indian artiste to win the category's top acting honour, marking a significant milestone for India at the prestigious film gala. The festival will conclude on Saturday.
In her acceptance speech on Friday night, Sengupta dedicated the award to the "queer community and other marginalised communities" for bravely fighting for their rights all over the world.
"You don’t have to be queer to fight for equality, you don’t have to be colonised to know that colonising is pathetic — we just need to be very, very decent human beings," the actor said.
The win at Cannes is a landmark moment in Sengupta's career. She earlier played a supporting part in 2009 Bengali movie "Madly Bangalee", directed by Anjan Dutt, and worked as a production designer after shifting to Mumbai.
"The Shameless", which had its premiere at Cannes on May 17, forays into a dark, disturbing world of exploitation and misery in which two sex workers, one who bears the scars of her line of work, the other a young girl days away from ritual initiation, forge a bond and seek to throw off their shackles.
Sengupta plays the central character of Renuka, who escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death and takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India, where she meets Devika (Omara), a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution.
The actor celebrated her win on Instagram, where she posted pictures with Un Certain Regard jury head, Canadian director Xavier Dolan, and German-Luxembourg star Vicky Krieps.
"I won, guys, held so lovingly by my heroes. I’m here for you, to be the one you need THANK YOU @festivaldecannes," Sengupta wrote in the caption.
"The Shameless" also stars Mita Vashisht, Tanmay Dhanania, Rohit Kokate and Auroshikha Dey in key roles.
British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri's "Santosh" was part of the Un Certain Regard category as well but didn't win any award.
The Un Certain Regard, which runs parallel to the festival's main competition, aims to highlight new trends, new paths and new countries of cinema.
The top prize of the segment went to "Black Dog" by Chinese filmmaker Gou Zhen, while French director Boris Lojkine's "L’Histoire de Souleymane" bagged the Jury Prize.
Abou Sangre of "L’Histoire de Souleymane" won the best actor trophy for his performance in the movie.
The best director trophy was shared by Roberto Minervini of "The Damned" and Rungano Nyoni for "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl".
Tawfik Alzaidi of Saudi Arabia received a Special Mention for his first feature film "Norah" and the Youth Award went to Louise Courvoisier for her debut movie "Holy Cow".
The Un Certain Regard jury was chaired by Dolan and included French-Senegalese director Maimouna Doucoure, Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir and American writer Todd McCarthy.
Several Indian celebrities including filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Hansal Mehta, actors Arjun Kapoor, Radhika Apte and Adarsh Gourav congratulated Sengupta on her win.
Akhtar shared a news story about Sengupta's win on her Instagram Stories and wrote, "Congratulations."
Mehta wrote, "Congratulations on your win at Cannes 2024."
"This deserves to be celebrated along with the film," Kapoor posted.
Apte, whose film "Sister Midnight" was screened at the film gala as part of sidebar section Directors' Fortnight, said on Instagram, "Absolutely incredible."
"Historic day for India! Congratulation for the win," Gourav said on his Instagram Stories.
Cannes, May 25 (PTI) Anasuya Sengupta, one of the lead stars of Bulgarian director Konstantin Bojanov's Hindi-language movie "The Shameless", has created history by bagging the Best Actress award in the Un Certain Regard category of the 2024 Cannes Film Festival.
Sengupta, who hails from Kolkata, is the first Indian artiste to win the category's top acting honour, marking a significant milestone for India at the prestigious film gala. The festival will conclude on Saturday.
In her acceptance speech on Friday night, Sengupta dedicated the award to the "queer community and other marginalised communities" for bravely fighting for their rights all over the world.
"You don’t have to be queer to fight for equality, you don’t have to be colonised to know that colonising is pathetic — we just need to be very, very decent human beings," the actor said.
The win at Cannes is a landmark moment in Sengupta's career. She earlier played a supporting part in 2009 Bengali movie "Madly Bangalee", directed by Anjan Dutt, and worked as a production designer after shifting to Mumbai.
"The Shameless", which had its premiere at Cannes on May 17, forays into a dark, disturbing world of exploitation and misery in which two sex workers, one who bears the scars of her line of work, the other a young girl days away from ritual initiation, forge a bond and seek to throw off their shackles.
Sengupta plays the central character of Renuka, who escapes from a Delhi brothel after stabbing a policeman to death and takes refuge in a community of sex workers in northern India, where she meets Devika (Omara), a young girl condemned to a life of prostitution.
The actor celebrated her win on Instagram, where she posted pictures with Un Certain Regard jury head, Canadian director Xavier Dolan, and German-Luxembourg star Vicky Krieps.
"I won, guys, held so lovingly by my heroes. I’m here for you, to be the one you need THANK YOU @festivaldecannes," Sengupta wrote in the caption.
"The Shameless" also stars Mita Vashisht, Tanmay Dhanania, Rohit Kokate and Auroshikha Dey in key roles.
British-Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri's "Santosh" was part of the Un Certain Regard category as well but didn't win any award.
The Un Certain Regard, which runs parallel to the festival's main competition, aims to highlight new trends, new paths and new countries of cinema.
The top prize of the segment went to "Black Dog" by Chinese filmmaker Gou Zhen, while French director Boris Lojkine's "L’Histoire de Souleymane" bagged the Jury Prize.
Abou Sangre of "L’Histoire de Souleymane" won the best actor trophy for his performance in the movie.
The best director trophy was shared by Roberto Minervini of "The Damned" and Rungano Nyoni for "On Becoming a Guinea Fowl".
Tawfik Alzaidi of Saudi Arabia received a Special Mention for his first feature film "Norah" and the Youth Award went to Louise Courvoisier for her debut movie "Holy Cow".
The Un Certain Regard jury was chaired by Dolan and included French-Senegalese director Maimouna Doucoure, Moroccan director Asmae El Moudir and American writer Todd McCarthy.
Several Indian celebrities including filmmakers Zoya Akhtar, Hansal Mehta, actors Arjun Kapoor, Radhika Apte and Adarsh Gourav congratulated Sengupta on her win.
Akhtar shared a news story about Sengupta's win on her Instagram Stories and wrote, "Congratulations."
Mehta wrote, "Congratulations on your win at Cannes 2024."
"This deserves to be celebrated along with the film," Kapoor posted.
Apte, whose film "Sister Midnight" was screened at the film gala as part of sidebar section Directors' Fortnight, said on Instagram, "Absolutely incredible."
"Historic day for India! Congratulation for the win," Gourav said on his Instagram Stories.
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MP HC sets up judicial commission to probe water contamination in Indore
Indore (PTI): The Indore bench of Madhya Pradesh High Court on Tuesday set up a commission of inquiry comprising a former HC judge to probe the issue of water contamination in city's Bhagirathpura, saying the matter requires probe by an independent, credible authority and "urgent judicial scrutiny".
It also directed the commission to submit an interim report after four weeks from the date of commencement of proceedings.
A division bench of Justices Vijay Kumar Shukla and Alok Awasthi constituted the commission while hearing several public interest litigations (PILs) filed simultaneously regarding the deaths of several people in Bhagirathpura due to the consumption of contaminated water.
The HC reserved the order after hearing all the parties during the day, and released it late at night.
The state government on Tuesday told the HC that the deaths of 16 people in Indore's Bhagirathpura area was possibly linked to a month-long outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The government presented an audit report of 23 deaths from the current gastroenteritis epidemic in Bhagirathpura before the bench, suggesting that 16 of these fatalities may have been linked to the outbreak of vomiting and diarrhoea caused by contaminated drinking water.
The report, prepared by a committee of five experts from the city's Government Mahatma Gandhi Memorial Medical College, stated that the deaths of four people in Bhagirathpura were unrelated to the outbreak, while no conclusion could be reached regarding the cause of death of three other people in the area.
During the hearing, the high court sought to know from the state government the scientific basis behind its report.
The division bench also expressed surprise at the state government's use of the term "verbal autopsy" in relation to the report, sarcastically stating that it had heard the term for the first time.
The HC expressed concern over the Bhagirathpura case, stating that the situation was "alarming," and noted that cases of people falling ill due to contaminated drinking water have also been reported in Mhow, near Indore.
In its order, the HC said the serious issue concerning contamination of the drinking water supply in Bhagirathpura area allegedly resulted in widespread health hazards to residents, including children and elderly persons.
According to the petitioners and media reports, death toll is about 30 till today, but the report depicts only 16 without any basis or record, it said.
It is averred that sewage mixing, leakage in the pipeline, and failure of civic authorities to maintain potable water standards have led to the outbreak of water-borne diseases. Photographs, medical reports, and complaints submitted to the authorities prima facie indicate a matter requiring urgent judicial scrutiny, the HC said.
"Considering the gravity of the allegation and affecting the right to life under Article 21 of the Constitution of India and the need for an independent fact-finding exercise, the Court is of the opinion that the matter requires investigation by an independent, credible authority," it said.
"Accordingly, we appoint Justice Sushil Kumar Gupta, former judge of the Madhya Pradesh High Court, a one-man commission of inquiry into the issues relating to water contamination in Bhagirathpura, Indore, and its impact on other areas of the city," the HC added.
As per the order, the commission shall inquire into and submit a report on the cause of contamination -- whether the drinking water supplied to Bhagirathpura was contaminated; and the source and nature of contamination (sewage ingress, industrial discharge, pipeline damage etc).
The panel will also probe the number of actual deaths of affected residents on account of contaminated water; find out the nature of disease reported and adequacy of medical response and preventive measures; suggest immediate steps required to ensure safe drinking water as well as long-term infrastructural and monitoring reforms.
It will also identify and fix responsibility upon the officers and officials found prima facie responsible for the Bhagirathpura water contamination incident, and suggest guidelines for compensation to affected residents, particularly vulnerable sections.
The commission shall have powers of a civil court for the purpose of summoning officials and witnesses; calling up records from the government department, hospitals, laboratories and civic bodies; ordering water quality testing through accredited laboratories; conducting spot inspections.
All state authorities involving district administration, Indore Municipal Corporation, public health engineering department and Madhya Pradesh Pollution Control Board shall extend full co-operation and provide records as sought by the commission, it said.
The state government shall provide office space, staff, and logistical support to the commission, it said.
During the hearing in the day, the state government also presented a status report to the court in this matter.
According to reports, a total of 454 patients were admitted to local hospitals during the vomiting and diarrhea outbreak, of whom 441 have been discharged after treatment, and 11 are currently hospitalised.
According to officials, due to a leak in the municipal drinking water pipeline in Bhagirathpura, sewage from a toilet was also mixed in the water.
