Anasuya Sengupta, who is making headlines for becoming the first Indian actor to win the Best Actress at Cannes, never wanted to become an actor in the first place. Sengupta, who hails from Kolkata, holds a degree in English literature from Jadavpur University and wanted to discover herself through journalism. However, life had other plans.
Anasuya, who starred in a supporting role for Anjan Dutta’s 2009 film Madly Bangalee, dabbled in theatre for some time before shifting to Mumbai in 2013. There, she started working as a production designer.
In an interview with My Kolkata, Anasuya said, “As a production designer in Mumbai, the projects I hold the closest to my heart include Sanjeev Sharma’s Saat Uchakkey (2016), starring the likes of Manoj Bajpayee and Anupam Kher, and Srijit Mukherji’s Forget Me Not, starring Ali Fazal as part of the Netflix anthalogy Ray (2021).”
Anasuya has also lent her expertise to the visual panorama of Netflix’s Masaba Masaba.
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ALSO READ | Anasuya Sengupta creates history, becomes first Indian actor to win Best Actress at Cannes Film Festival
Although it seemed like all was going well for Anasuya, there was a time when she felt lost and claustrophobic. “All through my years in Mumbai, although connected to the world of art in some form or the other, a part of me felt lost, claustrophobic, almost devoid of free expression,” said Anasuya to My Kolkata.
This made her take a leap of faith and shift to Goa with support from her father. “I was unaware of how financially sustainable the decision was or where my career curve would meander. However, amidst the chaos, it was my father who held my hand and asked, ‘what’s the worst that can happen?’ and that sealed the deal.”
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Here, she met the love of her life Yashdeep. Talking about her first meeting with her now husband, Anasuya, who is also an artist, in an Instagram post shared, “Soon after we started dating, somebody asked us, ‘how did you meet?’, ‘We met at home’, was Yd’s prompt reply. It sounded hilarious at the time, but we decided eventually it’s what describes us best. We first started talking online. He loved my art and wanted to get a copy of my calender. I snooed a bit and found that he’s a DNB Dj.”
She added, “We found several common connections through my art and his music and hit it off right away. It was only later that we found out art and music is a side thing for both. Naval officer and set designer didn’t seem any less exciting though. We fixed a day for the calendar pick up, and ended up chattig through a night and a day. We spen
t the next one week riding around Goa together, him on his Enfield, me on my scooter. We hit beaches, parties, yoga classes, dance floors, friend’s birthdays with equal fervour.”
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Just as her love story, the tale of her landing the role of Renuka is no less than a co-incidence. It all happened over a friend request.
Anasuya told My Kolkata how she received a request from her Facebook friend Bojanov to audition for a role in his Hindi film. In one of her Instagram posts, Anasuya wrote, “In June 2020 Konstantin wrote to me saying he was interested in seeing me test for a principal character in his upcoming feature, The Shamelss. My first response… why?”
“When Anasuya sent across her audition tape, it was a yes at first shot. I’m now on the lookout for Anasuya’s Bulgarian twin to cast in my next project,” said Bojanov to My Kolkata.
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The Shameless, starring Anasuya Sengupta and Omara Shetty, is a noir thriller set against the backdrop of the centuries-old devdasi system. The story revolves around Renuka, played by Anasuya who escpaes from a brothel in Delhi after killing a police officer. Later, she falls in love with a teenager named Devika, played by Omara Shetty.
The film was shot in Nepal for two months and a night in Mumbai, according to Anasuya’s Instagram post. The film that bagged Anasuya the Best Actress in the Un Certain Regard section of Cannes 2024, is yet to release in India.
Receiving the award, Anasuya dedicated it to the queer community and other marginalised communities all around the world, reported Variety. She said, “You don’t have to be queer to fight for equality, you don’t have be colonised to know the colonising is pathetic – we just need to be very, very decent human beings.”
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