Apr 16, 2025 11:04 AM IST
Tanvi The Great, directed by Anupam Kher, will have its world premiere at Cannes. Kher emphasises on the film’s universal appeal and Indian roots.
Actor Anupam Kher’s second directorial in more than two decades, Tanvi The Great, will have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival this May. Anupam shares that he wanted the film’s journey to start from “the Maha Kumbh of cinema”. “I did direct another film Om Jai Jagdish 23 years back, but that was not my story. After that, I didn’t direct any film. I wanted it to come from within me, an Indian film for international viewing,” says the 70-year-old.
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He adds he has made the film with a theatrical release in mind: “The film has an Indian character but it’s a universal film. That’s why I am spending money, taking actors there (Cannes) – it’s a huge kharcha. But I want to put the film on a pedestal. Warna mujhe kya zaroorat hai New York jaane ki? I am not some Indian actor who also works in English films. You will not ask this question about whether the film will release in theatres or OTT to Martin Scorcese! I am not comparing myself to these greats, but when you are making the film with passion, uska jo marzi hashr ho, you make it for the cinemas.”
Ask Anupam, who has worked in international projects such as Silver Linings Playbook (2012), whether Indian films and talent are looked at differently now, especially after several projects including Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine as Light made quite a splash in the film circuits and he acknowledges that the global perception of Indian cinema and talent has evolved.
He says, “It certainly has changed. I have not made this film as a crusader though. It has an international appeal which is why I signed on internationally known people like (composer) MM Keeravani and (sound designer) Resul Pookutty, both Oscar winners. My DoP on the film is Japanese. It is a musical, like The Sound of Music (1965).”
“People think Indian films are musical just because we burst into songs. No that’s not the case. It will be interesting to see the journey of the film from Cannes, and start the PR campaign with a bang,” Anupam ends.
