AR Rahman, the renowned music composer, believes that talent should not be confined to a specific region, and young Indian artists like Cannes prize winner Payal Kapadia, who are connected with the changing times, play a vital role in taking Indian stories to a global audience.
Kapadia, a graduate of the Film & Television Institute of India (FTII), created history by becoming the first Indian filmmaker to receive the Grand Prix award for her film "All We Imagine as Light" at the Cannes Film Festival.
This Indian-French production, featuring Malayalam and Hindi, was the first movie by an Indian director in 30 years to be included in the main competition section of the prestigious European festival.
Rahman, a highly acclaimed musician who has achieved success at both domestic and international levels with multiple Oscars, Grammys, and a Golden Globe, emphasised that the beautiful stories originating from India deserve to be recognised globally.
"The spirit of the young people has changed now. They are more intelligent. They know where to move stuff, and what kind of stories to tell. As long as we tell beautiful stories about India and not just poverty, it's a good thing.
"The art of film is not just for (audience at home), it's international... It’s important to learn certain things, not be happy with, 'Oh we got a great audience here, box office is good here.' Some people are not satisfied with that. So they go for (international festivals), Payal Kapadia is one (of them)," the composer told PTI in an interview.
Rahman was present at Cannes last month to introduce "Headhunting to Beat Boxing," set in Nagaland and directed by Rohit Gupta, at the festival's market.
Recalling the time when he earned two Academy Awards for the British film "Slumdog Millionaire" in 2009, Rahman said there were people who said he deserved to win an award for "Lagaan" (which made it to the final five in the Best Foreign Film Oscar category in 2002) and 1992's "Roja".
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