Chhaya Kadam is an accomplished actress whose career has recently reached new heights with her debut at the prestigious Cannes Film Festival, where she presented the film All We Imagined As Light. Hailing from a middle-class family; Chhaya's journey into acting began after a personal tragedy in 2001, leading her to join an acting workshop that changed her life. Over the years, she has been part of critically acclaimed films like Fandry, Mi Sindhutai Sapkal, and Baboo Band Baaja, earning recognition for her compelling performances. Notably, she has worked with renowned directors like Nagraj Manjule and Sanjay Leela Bhansali and acted alongside Amitabh Bachchan in Jhund. Chaaya values the respect she garners through her craft and aims to inspire others by living life on her own terms, as reflected in her role in Laapata Ladies. With a desire to continue exploring diverse roles and work with visionary directors, Chhaya Kadam's career is marked by resilience, passion and a quest for meaningful storytelling.

This year, you made your debut at Cannes. How was that experience for you?

This year has been very special for me. I had the opportunity to present our film, All We Imagined As Light, at Cannes. When we start out, we aim for good work, awards and recognition, but Cannes was never in my bucket list. It was thrilling to be there for the film rather than the glamour. It was also my first trip outside India, which made it even more significant. I always thought that only selective and fashionable people go there. When the opportunity to go to Cannes presented itself, I appointed a stylist and told her that I want to look good, different as well as comfortable. This was the first time that I travelled outside India, so this was very important for me.

We saw you guys spontaneously breaking into a dance at Cannes. It was one of the happiest images from the festival…