Chetan Anand: The only Indian director ever to win the Palme d’Or
One of the most prestigious prizes in cinema has only ever been won by a single Indian filmmaker, but there are a number of reasons beyond that to make Chetan Anand’s victory a history-making achievement.
For one thing, it was the filmmaker’s very first feature that was named deserving of what was known at the time as the Grand Prix du Festival International du Film. 1946’s Neecha Nagar was rightly celebrated as a landmark moment for social realism in India, with the story following the class divides at the heart of a poor man heading a revolt against a wealthy landowner who wants to redirect sewage into a small village in order to clear the way for the construction of a housing project.
Not only that, but Anand claimed his prize at the first annual edition of the Cannes Film Festival. The maiden gala was due to be held in 1939, but the outbreak of World War II set those plans back by seven years, giving the filmmaker the distinction of becoming his country’s first recipient of its most vaunted accolade at the very first attempt.
There’s admittedly an asterisk next to that victory, though, with the jury proving so indecisive that no less than 11 films were declared co-winners of the Palme d’Or’s predecessor. Alongside Anand’s Neecha Nagar, the honours were split between a wide-ranging array of titles hailing from some of the industry’s most prominent auteurs.
David Lean’s Brief Encounter, Alf Sjöberg’s Hets, Leopold Lindtberg’s The Last Chance, Billy Wilder’s The Lost Weekend, Emilio Fernández’s María Candelaria, Frantisek Cáp’s Men Without Wings, Bodil Ipsen and Lau Lauritzen’s Red Meadows, Roberto Rossellini’s Rome, Open City, Jean Delannoy’s La symphonie pastorale, and Fridrikh Ermler’s Velikiy perelom comprised the rest of the 11-strong field.
However, history will never be able to take away Anand’s achievement, with Indian filmmakers very rarely even finding themselves among the running for the Palme d’Or in the eight decades since. V. Shantaram’s Amar Bhoopali, Raj Kapoor’s Awaara, M. S. Sathyu’s Garm Hava, the legendary Satyajit Ray’s Parash Pathar, Devi, and Ghare Baire, Mrinal Sen’s Kharij, Shaji N. Karun’s Swaham, and most recently Payal Kapadia’s 2024 effort All We Imagine as Light are the only others to have been nominated.
Anand would go on to direct another 15 films between 1950’s Afsar and 1986’s Haathon Ki Lakeeren, as well as co-founding the prolific production company Navketan Films, but never again did he find himself under consideration from Cannes despite becoming one of his generation’s most distinguished cinematic voices.
Still, it’s a distinction that will endure, and becoming the first Indian winner of the prize eventually rebranded as the Palme d’Or at the first attempt is a unique slice of history that can never be replicated.
