Anasuya Sengupta becomes the first Indian actor to win the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival

Anasuya Sengupta made history by becoming the first Indian to win the Best Actress award at the Cannes Film Festival for her performance in "The Shameless."

The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival has been quite eventful for India. In addition to Shyam Benegal’s "Manthan" receiving a special screening nearly 48 years after its release and several celebrities and influencers making a splash on the red carpet, Indian films and actors were nominated in several categories. Now, an Indian actor has won big at Cannes 2024.

Anasuya Sengupta, hailing from Kolkata, won the Un Certain Regard Prize for Best Actress for her performance in "The Shameless." The film, directed and written by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov, revolves around Renuka, played by Anasuya, who escapes from a Delhi brothel after killing a police officer. The film also stars Omara Shetty as Renuka's love interest.

With her win, Anasuya has made history by becoming the first Indian to receive this award. Apart from Anasuya, two Indian films, "Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" and "Bunnyhood," won first and third place, respectively, in the La Cinef Selection at this year’s Cannes.

"Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know" is a Kannada short film directed by Chidananda Naik, a student from the Film and Television Institute of India. "Bunnyhood," directed by Mansi Maheshwari, who hails from Meerut in Uttar Pradesh and has been studying in the UK, secured third place.The 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival concludes on May 25.

In an interview with The Kolkata, Anasuya recalled her reaction upon learning that her film was listed under the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes. She said, “I received the news when Konstantin sent me a link to the press conference announcing the Cannes official selections. When our film’s name was announced, I jumped out of the chair with ecstasy!”