Cannes winner Kani Kusruti reveals she rejected The Kerala Story after being called for audition

Indian actress Kani Kusruti is on seventh heaven afterher film All We Imagine As Light recently won the coveted Grand Prix award atCannes Film Festival 2024. After returning from Cannes, the actress, who still can’t believe that they won such a huge feat, sat down for an interview to discuss how she selects her films and about grabbing attention on the red carpet with her watermelon bag, a symbol of Palestinian resistance.

Kani Kusruti said, “I do not have the privilege to choose only the films that align with my politics,” after she was called hypocritical for flashing the watermelon bag at the Cannes red carpet while having beenpart of a film like Biriyaani which was essentially Islamophobic.

Kani Kusruti explains why she did Biriyaani, which many call an Islamophobic film

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While Biriyaani got her a state award in 2020, she said she did the film for financial reasons. “I had told Sajin that neither my politics nor aesthetics were aligned with the script. Sajin comes from a backward Muslim community and speaks his politics, which is correct in its own right. But that is not my politics,” she said. Sajin Baabu was the director of Biriyaani. He has earlier faced criticism from sections of the Muslim community for allegedly normalising Muslim men joining the terror outfit ISIS and exaggerating the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) among Muslims in Kerala.

Some also said that the film has a “a voyeuristic take on Muslim women”.

Kani Kusruti rejected The Kerala Story

Kani further added that while she had disagreements with the director, she went ahead with the film because of financial difficulties. She also revealed in the same breadth that she turned down an audition call for The Kerala Story by director Sudipto Sen.

On the lack of opportunities for her, Kani added, “I would appreciate it if I were at least given the chance to audition before I am denied the role.” She revealed that she gets more offers from the Hindi film industry than the Malayalam industry.

“You [the interviewer] asked why I am not part of more Malayalam films. I can only do films that come to me. If I do not get employment, I will again have to choose films that do not align with my politics,” Kani said.

Kani explains her decision to carry watermelon bag at Cannes

On her Cannes watermelon bag, Kani stood her ground and said, “There were many people who wore badges and different kinds of accessories to show their solidarity with different issues, not just Palestine. They addressed issues like violence against women in workspaces, low wages of workers in Cannes, and many more. I had decided that I should carry something in solidarity with Palestine.”

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