Kanu Behl's new feature Agra selected in the Directors' Fortnight section at Cannes 2023
Poster of Agra and a still from the film featuring Rahul Roy
Indian filmmaker Kanu Behl's next Hindi film Agra is all set to have its world premiere at the prestigious Directors' Fortnight, a parallel section at the Cannes Film Festival 2023. Agra is the only Indian feature film in the lineup this year. The festival will be held from May 16, 2023 – May 27, 2023.
Agra is Kanu Behl’s second film to have its world premiere at the Cannes Film Festival after his debut film Titli which premiered in the 2014 Cannes Un Certain Regard section.
Directors' Fortnight highlights independent films from throughout the world, a free-spirited, non-competitive selection open to all festival goers.
Agra boasts of an ensemble cast headlined by Rahul Roy (Aashiqui star) who makes a comeback with this film. It also features Priyanka Bose (actor in the Oscar-nominated film Lion), a debut actor Mohit Agarwal in a lead role, Ruhani Sharma, veteran actors Vibha Chibber, Sonal Jha and Aanchal Goswami in pivotal roles.
Agra goes to Cannes!
We would like to announce with pride that our film AGRA is all set to premiere at the prestigious Directors’ Fortnight at the Cannes Film Festival 2023.@mohitagarwal14 @aanchalgoswami55 @sonaljhaofficial @thevibha @officialrahulroy @priyankabose20 pic.twitter.com/FyQKWQdErx — Kanu Behl (@KanuBehl) April 18, 2023
The film written by Kanu Behl and Atika Chohan, is an exploration of sexual dynamics within a family, and the deep dystopian fractures created in modern India fast shrinking into pigeon-holed spaces.
The film was developed at ‘PJLF Three Rivers residency program - in Italy, with the prestigious ‘Cinema du Monde’ film fund backing it. The film was also part of the FBR section of the Viewing Room at NFDC’s Film Bazaar, 2022.
Kanu Behl, the writer-director of the film says, “Agra has been a deeply personal and difficult exploration for me, a deep dive into the inner entrails of desire and male sexual repression, and an attempt to understand the hoodoo. I’m overjoyed that the film is beginning its journey at Director’s Fortnight and I hope it opens a conversation around sexuality and the ‘homes’ we choose to live in, as it reaches a wider audience. ”
Actor Rahul Roy says, “I was so excited when I read the script of Agra because it spoke about things that had been knots within me for years. As we filmed it and I lived each day with my character, I burned and exhumed those knots and the journey became a transformative experience. I’m so excited to share this special film with the world. ”
The plot of Agra
The film narrates the story of Guru (25), a sexually repressed young boy, lives in a small house in Agra. He sleeps in the same room as his mother, and on the upper floor, his father lives with a mistress. In an already tiny house, the only available space is the terrace on the upper floor. Guru insists that he loves Mala, an imaginary girl, and will marry her and live with her in a room on the terrace just like his father does with his mistress.
Agrathen becomes the odyssey of a young Indian man’s sexual coming of age as he goes from courting an imaginary girl; to sex chatting with an unknown girl online; to finally bedding a 40-year-old cripple woman and ‘falling in love with her’, ending up having sex with for the first time.
Apart from Agra, Anurag Kashyap's Kennedy will also be screened at the prestigious film festival which is taking place in Cannes, France from May 14 onwards.
