Malayalam actor Kani Kusruti has garnered global acclaim for her performance in Payal Kapadia's All We Imagine As Light, which won the historic Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival last week. In an interview with Manorama Online, she disclosed that despite receiving fewer film offers, she turned down an audition call from The Kerala Story director Sudipto Sen.

Kani Kusruti on rejecting an audition call from The Kerala Story director

"I can only work on films that come my way. If I do not get employment, I will have to choose films that may not align with my politics," Kani stated. She acknowledged that even after winning the Kerala State Award for her nuanced performance in Sajin Baabu's 2019 film Biriyaani, offers have been limited.

Kani emphasised her preference to avoid films that conflict with her political views. She revealed she had declined an audition for Sudipto Sen's polarising Bollywood film, The Kerala Story.

However, Kani did participate in Biriyaani despite it not aligning with her politics. "I had told Sajin (the director) that neither my politics nor aesthetics aligned with the script. Sajin comes from a backward Muslim community and expresses his politics, which is valid in its own right. But that is not my politics," she explained.

Kani Kusruti's Cannes win

Kani Kusruti made a statement at the Cannes 2024 screening of All We Imagine As Light by posing with a watermelon clutch to show solidarity with the people of Palestine. Her gesture, which was widely shared online, received praise for her support of a ceasefire in Gaza.

Payal Kapadia's debut fiction feature All We Imagine As Light, starring Kani, made history by becoming the first Indian film to win the Grand Prix Award at Cannes. It was also the first Indian film in nearly three decades to compete for the Palme d'Or, with the last being Shaji N Karun's Swaham in 1994. On May 23, the team of All We Imagine As Light celebrated their Cannes screening with a dance, and the film received an eight-minute standing ovation.