Director Payal Kapadia’s groundbreaking Grand Prix win at Cannes 2024 for her women-led debut feature All We Imagine As Light — a recognition India has been bestowed upon after 30 years — has taken social media by storm. From filmmakers to actors, Indians have congratulated her for this monumental win at the 77th edition of the prestigious film festival. However, a congratulatory message from her alma mater, the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII), which once took disciplinary action against her while she was still a student, on X (formerly Twitter), has raised many eyebrows. Actor Ali Fazal and sound designer Resul Pookutty took to social media to question FTII’s role in Payal’s success, calling the institute’s message a ‘hypocrisy.’ When FTII’s tweet described her win as a ‘moment of pride,’ Ali reposted the message with the sarcastic caption, ‘Uhhh… please don’t. Just don’t (sic).”
We congratulate Payal Kapadia for winning the Grand Prix Award, Santosh Sivan for receiving Pierre Angénieux Tribute Award, Maisam Ali for his debut at ACID & Chidanand S Naik for winning La Cinef.
Their achievements are taking Indian Cinema to greater heights#cannesfilmawards pic.twitter.com/3eDQtGhXS2
— FTII (@FTIIOfficial) May 26, 2024
Oscar-winning sound designer Pookutty also criticised FTII in a Facebook post. “But the big win came from #payalkapadia #AllWeImgineAsLight. It would be interesting to pause for a moment and think, has the Indian Film Industry anything to do with this win?! None! who all are been taken to Cannes by Govt. Of India as a delegation every year?! The usual suspects and familiar faces from mainstream Industry… What makes Payal’s win so important?! Not just that she is from FTII, that she is from a group of people/ students enthusiasts who are regular people who come from varied corners of India and signed themselves to be strugglers for the rest of their lives (sic).”
Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light bagged the Grand Prix award at Cannes 2024. (Photo by Vianney Le Caer/Invision/AP)
FTII’s official X hande wrote a post praising Payal. “It is a moment of pride for FTII as its Alumni create history at Cannes. As we witness a phenomenal year for Indian Cinema at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, FTII cherishes the glorious achievements of its Alumni at this Mega International Stage of Cinema (sic).” In another post, it wrote, “We congratulate Payal Kapadia for winning the Grand Prix Award, Santosh Sivan for receiving the Pierre Angénieux Tribute Award, Maisam Ali for his debut at ACID & Chidanand S Naik for winning La Cinef. Their achievements are taking Indian Cinema to greater heights #cannesfilmawards.” This certainly didn’t go down well with netizens, who slammed the institute for its double standards and hypocrisy.
Uhhh… please don’t. Just dont. https://t.co/UcBzjUp4GO
— Ali Fazal M / میر علی فضل / अली (@alifazal9) May 26, 2024
Meanwhile, noted lyricist and screenwriter, Javed Akhtar heaped praises on Payal for clinching the prestigious Grand Prix award in the Cannes Critics’ Week section. In a heartfelt post on X, he wrote, “Dear Payal Kapadia, heartiest congratulations to you. It is a great achievement. Very very proud of you. Do get in touch whenever you are Mumbai. Shabana and I will love to host you for a meal (sic).”
Dear Payal Kapadia , heartiest congratulations to you . It is a great achievement. Very very proud of you . Do get in touch whenever you are Mumbai . Shabana and I will love to host you for a meal .
— Javed Akhtar (@Javedakhtarjadu) May 26, 2024
Payal and FTII controversy stem from her past as a student activist at the institute. In 2015, she faced disciplinary action for leading protests against the institute’s decision to appoint Gajendra Chauhan as FTII president. Pune Police also filed a chargesheet against her and 34 other students for holding then-FTII director Prashant Pathrabe captive. Payal and other students were denied scholarships and later arrested.
In 2017, FII director Bhupendra Kainthola reversed the earlier stance and funded Payal’s travel to Cannes for her documentary short film, A Night of Knowing Nothing for which she won the ‘le prix du documentaire’ for Best Documentary.
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