Cannes Film Festival: Award-winning filmmaker Kanu Behl’s new Hindi feature film ‘Agra’ premieres at Cannes Film Festival, 2023 in an independent section ‘Directors’ Fortnight’. It is the only Indian film selected in the ‘Directors’ Fortnight section. The film received a 5-minute standing ovation. The mesmerized audience applauded the film standing up. The premiere of the film was attended by a large section of Indian and international media as well as those who had reserved their seats for the premiere in advance. The festival, which highlights independent films from around the world, is a free -Enthusiastic, non-competitive selection, that began on May 16, 2023, and will run through May 27, 2023.

His second film, Agra, directed by Kanu Behl, had its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival. Earlier, his film “Titli” had its world premiere in 2014 in the ‘Uncertain Regard Section’ of Cannes.

Kanu Behl, the writer and director of the film “Agra” does not need any introduction. After dabbling in radio, copywriting, and acting, Kanu Behl studied film direction at the Satyajit Ray Film and TV Institute, Kolkata. His first documentary An Actor Prepares (2006) premiered in competition at the Cinema du Reel, France. Subsequently, he produced and directed the dark short film Three Blind Men for ZDF and ARTE in 2007, which was commissioned at the Berlin Film Festival. This was followed by ‘Found Him Still?’ and ‘Over Thresholds’ (2008), documentary features commissioned by NHK, Japan. Kanu Behl, an alumnus of the Berlinale Talent Campus and two-time Berlin Today Award nominee, plunged into literature in 2010.

Kanu Behl’s first leading role was in the critically acclaimed film LSD (Love, Sex, and Betrayal), which he co-wrote with Dibakar Banerjee. In 2014, her debut film ‘Titli’ premiered at Un Certain Regard, Cannes. The film “Titli” won major 8 international awards including ‘NETPAC’ and Best First Foreign Film (2015) from the French Syndicate of Cinema Critics. His follow-up short ‘Binnu Ka Sapna’ premiered at the Clermont-Ferrand Short Film Festival and won the prestigious Student Jury Prize. His second feature titled ‘Agra’, an Indo-French co-production with the support of the prestigious Cinema du Monde Film Fund, is all set to premiere at the Director’s Fortnight, Cannes Film Festival. While the film “Dispatch” made under his direction is also almost ready. Manoj Bajpayee has an important role in this film.

‘Aashiqui’ fame actor Rahul Roy is back with the film ‘Agra’. Apart from this, the film also stars actress Priyanka Bose, who starred in the Oscar-nominated film “Lion”, debutant Mohit Aggarwal, Ruhani Sharma, Vibha Chhibber, Sonal Jha and Aanchal Goswami in key roles.

Written by Kanu Behl and Atika Chauhan, “Agra” explores the sexual dynamics within a family at a time when joint families in modern India are increasingly breaking down and shrinking like pigeons’ nests. The film was developed at Italy’s ‘PJLF Three Rivers Residency Program’ and was supported by the prestigious ‘Cinema du Monde film fund. The film’s writer and director Kanu Behl says, “It’s heartening to see a story that takes us on a very personal journey on a global platform with such love and warmth. Agra depicts a very specific milieu, but the story talks about the politics of sexual repression and the tangled skeletons of desire. It’s universal and that’s how the audience reacted. I feel really rewarded that the journey of the film has started on such an uplifting turn. The overwhelming success of the film at the Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival has fueled my hope that our film will open up difficult conversations about things we don’t address in our own homes.”

Siddharth Anand Kumar, Senior Vice President, Films & Events, Saregama India Ltd. said, “It was a matter of great pride for us to premiere Agra at the Directors’ Fortnight at Cannes. Kanu Behl has done a great job as a storyteller of contemporary realities and as a studio not afraid to experiment or take risks, we feel proud to support this film. The fact that it has been so lovingly received at Cannes is very encouraging and we look forward to making many more brave films that tell the untold and explore uncharted territories of the human psyche.”

Story:

Central to the story of the film “Agra” is Guru, a sexually repressed twenty-five-year-old young boy who lives in a small house in Agra. He sleeps in the same room with his mother and on the upper floor his father lives with a mister. In an already small house, the only available space is the terrace on the top floor. Guru insists that he is in love with Mala, an imaginary girl, and will marry her and live with her in a room on the terrace as his father lives with his mistresses.

‘Agra’ becomes an Odissi dance of sexual coming of age for a young Indian male as he meets an imaginary girl.