Cannes Fake Awards: After Phalke, fraud in the name of Cannes Film festival in mumbai, Ajit Rai told the truth
Films based on the LGBTQ (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Queer) community may not be commercially successful in india, but such films have been highly respected in international film festivals abroad. In such a situation, if a person claims that one of his similar films has received an award at the Cannes Film festival, then new people also believe it. One such case came to light on tuesday when a Mumbai-based PR agency described a film as the best LGBTQ film award winner at the Cannes Film festival, describing it as a film based on the community.
It is being publicized in the media about the film 'Prisoned: No Way Out' based on the LGBTQ community that this film has received the Best LGBTQ Film Award at the prestigious Cannes Film festival for the year 2023. Given this award, an invitation for the interview of the film's director Sonia kohli was also sent to the media. Since no such award is given at the Cannes Film festival, it was natural to be surprised to see this invitation. However, when the official website of the Cannes Film festival was searched for confirmation, no such film was found there.
Regarding this, senior film critic Ajit Rai, who regularly visits the Cannes Film festival, says, 'There is no category for the Best LGBTQ Film Award in the Cannes Film Festival. Information about the films that receive awards there is available on their official website. Some people take photos of the pandals set up outside during the Cannes festival and post them as if they have come to the Cannes Film Festival.
The PR team in mumbai, which announced that the film will be the Best LGBTQ Film Award winner at the prestigious Cannes Film festival of 2023, invited people for an interview with the film's director Sonia Kohli. When questioned, its directors first maintained silence and then, upon further probing, admitted that the film had received the award not at the Cannes Film festival but at the Cannes World Film Festival. Even after the theft was caught, the PR agency continued to claim that this event was similar to the Cannes Film Festival.
Senior film critic Ajit Rai explains this in detail, 'The Cannes World Film festival is like the dozens of festivals held in mumbai every year in the name of Dadasaheb Phalke. The government of india gives the biggest honor of cinema, the dadasaheb phalke Award, to one cinema personality every year. All other awards are organized only to cash in on their name and to collect money from sponsors. Similarly, all these award ceremonies are held in the name of the Cannes Film festival, their objective is not to uplift cinema.