Malayalam actor Kani Kusruti is currently at the centre of media attention with her film All We Imagine As Light winning the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival. She also grabbed the attention of many all over the world with her watermelon clutch – an indication of her support to Palestine – on the red carpet. And for Kani, this win has paved the path for every woman of Indian cinema.
Speaking exclusively to News18 Showsha from Kochi, Kani tells us that her female peers have all been ‘wonderful’ and thrilled as she brought home the Grand Prix. “Parvathy (Thiruvothu), Rima (Kallingal) – everyone messaged me. The reactions have mostly came from the female actors. Even male actors like Kunchacko (Boban) and Jayasurya reached out. I don’t know if Mohanlal and Mammootty did because when I was at Cannes, my phone wasn’t working,” she says.
In fact, being honoured with the award on a global stage felt like winning it for all her female friends and co-stars in the Malayalam film industry. “We’ve a really strong sisterhood and camaraderie here in Kerala. We really support each other well, emotionally and every way possible. All of them were crying and were happy. It was an amazing feeling. I felt like all of us were up there on the Cannes stage and not just the four of us,” says Kani.
However, there’s one thing she has been struggling with. Prod her and the Girls Will Be Girls actor laughs, “I’ve 549 messages on WhatsApp to respond to. I don’t know where to start. That’s why I’m consciously avoiding everyone. And I don’t have managers to look into all this!”
Apart from All We Imagine As Light’s all-woman team winning at the Cannes, Anusuya Sengupta became the first Indian to win the Best Actress award for her performance in Shameless. Kani reveals that she shares a deep friendship with Anusuya that transcends beyond professional boundaries and knows that this is a bond that ‘will go a long way’.
Kani shares, “Anusuya and I are both based out of Goa. And we’ve a common friend called Tanmay (Dhanania), who’s an actor. Two months ago, she called me to their place to celebrate Holi. We had a whole day celebrating. I even posted her picture on Instagram despite it being a sudden friendship. Between Anusuya and me, it was like an instant connection.”
Recalling the moment when they came to know that both of their films will be featured at Cannes, Kani gleams, “She’s a production designer, primarily. And imagine she won an award for her first ever lead role! When we heard that both our films have been selected to be screened at Cannes, we began jumping out of joy! We were like, ‘What’s happening? We just met and became friends and we’re all from Goa!’”
She adds, “We met at Cannes. She watched our film. I couldn’t watch hers because by the time we reached, the screening was over. We’re so happy for each other. She’s lovely and grounded. I’m sure she has killed it in Shameless.”
