Interviews
Interview With Actress Kani Kusruti (All We Imagine As Light)
All We Imagine As Light has proved a darling of this year’s festival season with its history-making Cannes success and acclaimed stop-offs at Toronto and the London Film Festival. In London, I had the pleasure of chatting with its lead, Kani Kusruti, as part of a round table interview for the film.
Kusruti plays Prabha, a Malayali nurse who has travelled from Kerala to Mumbai for work. Prabha’s husband emigrated to Germany soon after they married, so she lives with a younger nurse, Anu, whose more liberal attitudes conflict with her conservative upbringing. She also finds friendship with another nurse, Parvaty, who is facing eviction from her home.
The film offers a powerful look into India’s social and cultural baggage. However, at its core, it celebrates the powerful friendship forged between its three female leads. We chatted with Kusruti about the friendship they forged off the screen, her difficulty relating to Prabha as a character, and her interpretation of what the film’s title actually means.
All We Imagine as Light was the first film to be selected at Cannes for over 30 years and won the Grand Prix. How does that feel as an actor?
I mean, of course, I feel good and I feel proud. But it’s not one person’s job to be there to make a film. It’s a lot of people’s work, and I think we all share the happiness. At the end of the day, it’s also Payal’s film. She had the vision and I’m really proud of her, and really proud to be part of a project that I hope brings more light to other aspiring female or independent film directors.
What was it like to stand on stage at Cannes and receive that Grand Prix?
Yeah, Payal kind of brought all of us. She could have gone alone, but it was a nice moment to see four women there at the same time. I was genuinely happy for the whole team who worked on the film, but for Payal especially. I know the struggle she had as an independent filmmaker to make this film and to reach [Cannes].
But at that moment, I was also very overwhelmed that [we made] some kind of history to come here after so many years from India. [It] is an incredible journey, and I thought of my other female friends who are filmmakers and writers, whose incredible scripts I have read but don’t yet have producers. I thought of future directors who want producers to see [their] vision and support them. The moment made me think of all of them. It felt like a victory for all of us.
The film’s focus is this beautiful friendship between the trio of Prabha, Anu and Parvaty. Did that relationship bleed off-screen as well? Was there a real bond of camaraderie between you three actors?
Divya, who played Anu, and I have been friends for 10 years. So, we already had this camaraderie, and we were very excited when we both got cast in the film. We were like, “Wow, this is a dream come true to be together on a set like this!”.
Chhaya, the actor who played Parvati, is much more senior and someone who I look up to. So, more than friendship, I truly admire her. A friendship has definitely happened but, on the set, I was more surprised by the way she delivered her lines. Sometimes Payal was like, “This line is quite difficult. I should probably change it”. But then Chhaya would come and just say the line. We were like, “Wow, that’s really nice. I don’t know how she did it”. It was a learning experience watching her on the set.
The camaraderie was not just between the actors. There were also a lot of female crew on the set, including Payal of course. We all had that friendship. You may only see the actors because that’s the face of the film in a way, but the costume department, production design, the assistant directors [were] all females. We all became close. We all used to hang out together and everything. Especially in the second location [A seaside village the trio travel to from Mumbai]. It was a beautiful place. I’m still not out of that place yet. We would go to little shops and have these nice meals.
You mention having so many women as part of the crew and Payal as well. What did you learn from her direction and from having so many women as crew members?
I was just enchanted by how Payal is extremely open-minded, and she listens to [everyone]. Not just actors, even her AD, or even an intern. She’ll be like, “What do you think of this?”. She’s very open-minded that way, very receptive, which is such a unique quality for an author.
To have all these other female departments. I learned from them. It was really nice, you know, and gentle. Gentle, not too harsh. Even when we had punishing situations, lack of resources, or troubled situations. Because we shot in some locations where permissions were quite difficult [to get] and things like that. Everyone really stood through it. Of course, all the male members were also incredibly nice. But I think, of course, having more females on a film set is nice for me personally. It was balanced well that way.
Could you tell us how you reacted the first time you read the script? Could you tell it would be such a powerful story?
It started differently for me because I read the story eight years ago. Payal wanted me to do the part of Anu, which Divya played. She saw me in a short film when I was younger, and she [thought] maybe I should do that part. But it took years for it to happen. And then I was like, “I should probably audition for the other part”, and then that’s what happened.
When I read the final draft of the script, I thought it was poetic. It was so well written that I felt like nothing could be added or removed. The script is still my favourite thing about the film. The screenplay is beautiful, and she has written it like a novel. So, I was very happy to be part of it. I’m not someone who thinks, “Okay, where will this film go?”. I’m more of a moment person. I’m like, “Oh, this is a beautiful script and Payal is amazing. It would be great to work with her”. And with Divya being a friend and a great co-actor to be with. That’s all I thought.
I think it will still take a year for me to realise, “Oh, all this happened”. It was all too quick. We finished shooting in November last year, and it’s not even been a year. So, it’s too fast, everything! That’s why I said I’m still not even out of the location of the beach. We should have had more days there. But I’m already here at BFI, and I’m like, “What happened?!”.
Were there any surprises or unexpected takeaways that you had making this film?
Not while shooting, [but more] when I watched the film. I fought with Payal a lot while making it, or sometimes I’d fight for a scene. I was like, “No, this is not how it should be! This you can’t cut!” because I was so attached to the script. [Payal] was like, “Kani, you don’t have the time to shoot this scene! It’s OK even if the scene is not there.” But when I watched the film, I thought a lot of her decisions were right. I was like, “Okay, now you make sense.” I should have had patience. So, to discover Payal’s idea in retrospect was interesting for me.
Of course, I think every shoot makes you learn something or other about your own personality. Because it’s a lot of people’s work. Sometimes 120 people are on a set. So, to behave well and to have the presence of mind and everything. I mean, like every other film, something will be there. But it’s nothing that unique. Some guerilla shoots were interesting. We did not have permission, so [we] were just going to shoot! So those were interesting scenes. Interesting to shoot like that.
How did you go about connecting emotionally with your character?
I don’t work so much psychologically the way you’ve asked. I don’t think so much, I go with the moment a bit more and trust my body to react in the situation.
Prabha is not someone I relate to personally. I’m a very different person from her. So, I just tried to move like her or to react like her. But not so emotional stuff. I’m not like this person. I’m just like, “What a Loser! This person is a loser! Why is she like this!”. I almost hated her most of the time.
I would tell Payal, “Why is she making other people’s life difficult? Like, just don’t interfere with Anu’s life so much!”. So, of course, I’m trying to play this person to tell the story, but I completely disassociated myself so that I can play [her].
On the title “All We Imagine as Light”. What do you think your character imagines as light?
It’s so funny that you ask this because you don’t speak the language. This title, “All We Imagine as Light”, is from Paya’s mom’s painting, and my character’s name, Prabha, means light. That’s why she wanted it to be the name because it represents the meaning of light. So, all we imagine as light as my character is how Payal kind of envisioned it.
She also put the Malayalam name [the native Malayali language] for the film slightly differently, which brings it two different meanings. So, the Malayalam title is “Prabhayay Ninachathellam”, which also means “All We Imagine as Light”. And Prabha is my [character’s] name, so the Malayalam title also means “What all Prabha must have thought”. Maybe this is all made up in her mind, which is also really beautiful. But only Malayalees will get this. It’s not for everyone.
Coming back to your question, I think for Prabha the light is coming to her only towards the end of the story. She’s someone who carries a lot of baggage, social pressures, and cultural pressures. She’s never taking a decision on her own. [But] through the newly discovered friendship she has with Parvaty and Anu, she’s unlearning a lot of these things and trying to discover herself.
Finally, taking charge of her life and [finding] a closure to this non-existent husband relationship she doesn’t even have. [She’s] finally able to accept Anu’s boyfriend, who’s from a different religion, and to accept all kinds of people. And the transition she has is the light for me. And towards the end of the film, that acceptance she has is the light I see for Prabha.
All We Imagine As Light is released in UK cinemas on 29th November 2024
-
News3 weeks ago
Norwich Film Festival Unveils Biggest Line-Up Yet For 2024
-
Features4 weeks ago
Movie Trailers Everyone Is Talking About: The Teasers and Previews You Must See
-
Features4 weeks ago
Bolton International Film Festival – LGBTQ+ Strand
-
News4 weeks ago
Glasgow’s Weird Weekend Reveals 2024 Programme Of Strange And Unseen Cinema
-
Featured Review3 weeks ago
London Film Festival 2024 – The Wild Robot ★★★★★
-
Featured Review4 weeks ago
London Film Festival 2024 – Blitz ★★★★
-
News3 weeks ago
Blood Like Water/Sister Wives Triumph At 2024 Iris Prize LGBTQ+ Film Festival
-
News4 weeks ago
Iris Prize Announce 2024 Community/Education/Micro Short Award Winners