Having your film at Cannes feels like a milestone: Divya Prabha

Divya Prabha has been inundated with messages from industry colleagues - not just Malayalam, but from Bollywood - ever since it was announced that Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light is competing at 77th Cannes Film Festival. It is after a gap of 30 years that an Indian film - the last one was Shaji Karun’s Swaham with Mohanlal in the lead - is in competition for the coveted Palme d’Or award.

Divya and Kani Kusruti play Malayali nurses, Anu and Prabha, based in Mumbai, with the film focusing on their personal lives. Divya was invited to audition following her performance in Ariyippu, which was, in fact, the first Malayalam film and the first Indian film in 17 years to be selected for the international competition section at the Locarno Film Festival in 2022.

Divya says she feels extremely grateful to have been part of such path breaking films. “As an actor, it feels like you cannot hope for anything beyond having your film in competition at Cannes. It is like being a part of history. I feel motivated about my upcoming projects. This honour makes me feel I need to give my best in every film,” says the actress.

Divya says that she was happy about her character when she read the script. Speaking about her role in the film, in which the dialogues are mostly in Malayalam, she says, “The story features relationships; Anu’s with her boyfriend and Prabha’s with her estranged husband. I play a young character. I haven’t been in such a young role before and it is a very pleasant character, exploring love. Working on the project was an amazing experience. The workshops, rehearsals and shoot took over eight months, and the whole team worked really hard on the film. It felt like I’d signed on to the Payal Kapadia school of cinema. I value the trust that she had in me to play this role and I hope this will help me get a wider range of roles in Malayalam, too.”

Divya and Kani have done TV and a play together before, so she says it was “very comfortable working together”. “She is very professional and there is much to learn from her as an actor,” she says.

Going to Cannes
Divya is excited about going to Cannes in mid-May with the film’s team. Has she planned her wardrobe for the event? “Not yet,” she says, laughing. “There is some patchwork to be completed in post production and I still have some dubbing to do.”