New Delhi,3 Oct

Payal Kapadia, director of the Cannes Grand Prix award winner "All We Imagine As Light", is part of the TIME 100 Next 2024 list, created by the US-based publication to recognise most influential personalities from different walks of life.

In May, Kapadia's film also charted history by becoming the first movie from India to be selected in competition in 30 years at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival.

For TIME magazine, actor-singer Ayushmann Khurrana penned a note for the filmmaker, praising her talent and ability to translate the human experience for the big screen.

"Payal Kapadia is nothing short of a trailblazer. Her 2024 film, 'All We Imagine as Light', made history this year as the first from India to win Cannes’ Grand Prix.

"The movie is a master class of emotions—deeply reflective, philosophical, and meditative in its approach. There is a powerful believability to how she portrays the human experience onscreen. Her authenticity and her lens on reality are part of what makes her work so rare," Khurrana wrote.

What Kapadia, also known for the acclaimed documentary "A Night of Knowing Nothing" and short film "Afternoon Clouds", achieved at Cannes is a milestone for Indian cinema, he said.

"I'm proud to be living in an era where I could witness a talent like Payal showing the world that Indian stories resonate universally, transcending geographies and languages.

"Her win will inspire other filmmakers and artists to follow in her footsteps and think big. India is a young country of more than 1.4 billion people. We have 1.4 billion stories to tell, and Payal has boldly, loudly, and brilliantly told everyone to pursue their dreams. It would be an honor to work with her, and to engage with her mind," wrote the actor, who was the only Indian to be chosen for the 2023 edition of the TIME100 Impact Awards.

Kapadia's inclusion in the coveted list comes a day after "All We Imagine As Light" released in theatres across France on Wednesday. 

The Malayalam-Hindi film narrates the story of two Kerala nurses Prabha (Kani Kusruti) and Anu (Divya Prabha) co-habiting in Mumbai. It is an official Indo-French co-production between Chalk and Cheese Films from India and petit chaos from France.

Titled "Prabhayay Ninachathellam" in Malayalam, "All We Imagine As Light" released in select Kerala cinema halls on September 21 by Rana Daggubati's production house Spirit Media.

Also starring Chhaya Kadam, the film will subsequently be released across all major cities in India by Spirit Media. -PTI