Bollywood filmmaker Hansal Mehta voiced his frustration over the state of independent cinema in India, revealing that All We Imagine As Light, a film that won the Grand Prix award at the Cannes Film Festival, has struggled to find a home on any major OTT platform.

In a recent tweet, Mehta wrote, “And from what I hear, a film that no OTT platform is buying. The harsh reality of making independent films in India. This is no country for the spectacular All We Imagine As Light. Hope I’m proved wrong.” Mehta wrote this as a reply to a tweet by The New Yorker, which called Payal Kapadia’s film “one of the year’s great movies, in any form, style, or language.”

And from what I hear a film that no OTT platform is buying. The harsh reality of making independent films in India. This is no country for the spectacular All We Imagine As Light. HOPE I’M PROVED WRONG. https://t.co/nCN8wVppVw
— Hansal Mehta (@mehtahansal) November 18, 2024

All We Imagine As Light, directed by Payal Kapadia, won the Grand Prix award at Cannes 2023. Telugu actor Rana Daggubati’s production house, Spirit Media, has distributed the film all across India, which is releasing in most parts of the country on 22 November 2024.

Speaking to The Indian Express about the same, the Rana Naidu actor said, “Earlier, Spirit Media had never ventured beyond (Telugu films) since it is not easy to put out our independent cinema in this commercial world. But this was the right film for us to put the muscle behind and take it around the country. The film is truly pan-Indian in that sense. You will connect to the Mumbai city, immigrants living there and creating a life for themselves.”

All We Imagine As Light will release in cinemas on November 22. Metacritic assigned the film a score of 93 out of 100, based on 25 critics, indicating “universal acclaim.” On AlloCiné, the film received an average rating of 3.8 out of 5, based on 31 reviews from French critics. The Guardian gave the film five stars, praising it as an “absorbing story of three nurses that is full of humanity.” BBC also gave the film five stars.

See Also: Chhaya Kadam Reacts To All We Imagine As Light Not Being India’s Oscar Entry: ‘I Am Feeling A Little Bad…’