Anasuya Sengupta Just Became The First Indian Actor To Win Best Actress At Cannes

Homegrown creators have taken the shores of Cannes by storm this year. From Chidananda Naik's 'Sunflowers Were the First Ones to Know' and Mansi Maheshwari's 'Bunnnyhood' winning first and third prizes for best short film to Nancy Tyagi's stunning self-made debut on the red carpet, we've made sure that our formidable presence has been felt.

In another watershed moment for Indian cinema, we woke up this morning to find out that Anasuya Sengupta made history by becoming the first Indian to win the Best Actress award at the 77th edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The actor won for her role in 'The Shameless', a feature directed by Bulgarian filmmaker Konstantin Bojanov.

'The Shameless' tells the story of a woman who finds sanctuary amidst a community of sex workers in northern India after murdering a police officer. The film is an adaptation of William Dalrymple's book 'Nine Lives: In Search of the Sacred in Modern India' and was initially conceptualized as a documentary.

In her acceptance speech, Anasuya dedicated her win to "...the queer community and other marginalised communities", acknowledging their every day struggle for liberty and equality.

You can watch the trailer for the film below.

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