Chhaya Kadam on the historic Grand Prix win, says, ‘Earlier, my struggle was to get work, now it is for good work’

She expressed her happiness of being recognised by people at the festival, ”People in Cannes also recognised me as Manju Mai." (Image via X)

Indian actress Chhaya Kadam has been having the best week at the 77th Cannes Film Festival with not just one film, but two of her films being premiered at the esteemed international film festival.

Kadam is part of Payal Kapadia’s ‘All We Imagine As Light’ that won the Grand Prix award and Karan Kandhari’s ‘Sister Midnight’ that was screened at Directors Fortnight.

The ‘Laapataa Ladies’ star looked back on her journey as a struggling actor and the magnitude of being present at Cannes.

She expressed her happiness of being recognised by people at the festival, ”People in Cannes also recognised me as Manju Mai (from Laapataa Ladies); they would say, 'hey Manju Mai, Chhaya Kadam’."

The actress also spoke about the difficulties she had faced.

"Earlier, film reviews would miss out on mentioning my name, even if my character was important. Bura toh bahut lagta tha. But then I thought I should work so hard that people are compelled to mention my name in their reviews.”

She revelled in the joy of her achievements and added, "Earlier, my struggle was to get work, now it is for good work.”

Kadam’s acting journey began in 2006. She went on to star in Marathi films such as Fandry (2013), Sairat (2016) and Nude (2018).

The ‘Madgaon Express’ actress spoke about the historic achievement that ‘All We Imagine As Light’ made at the 77th Cannes Film Festival.

"It was the first Indian film to be screened at the main competition in 30 years, and we directly won an award! We had a story rooted in our motherland about women like us. For a subject like that to get selected here... I have no words,” she said.

Payal Kapadia’s debut feature film is the first film by an Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival.