New Delhi: For filmmaker SS Rajamouli, June was an action-packed month. From the screening of the animated Baahubali: The Eternal War at the Annecy International Animation Film Festival, to the release of the documentary series Baahubali: The Torch Bearer, which teased the announcement of Baahubali 3. But the best part of Rajamouli’s month was on 28 June, when the Cinémathèque Française named a seat after the acclaimed Indian director.
In a social media post from Paris, Rajamouli shared that having a screening for his films was an honour for him.
“But a sweet surprise I never saw coming. It is a feeling I cannot fully put into words. To have a permanent place in the halls of one of the world’s most legendary film institutions, named after the great Henri Langlois himself, is something I will carry with me forever,” he wrote on X.
Legendary filmmaker Costa-Gavras, who directed films such as Z (1969), Missing (1982), and The Ax (2005), attended the screening of Rajamouli’s films along with his wife. Gavras watched almost eight hours of Rajamouli’s filmography, even though he had initially planned to watch only RRR (2022) and return another day for Eega (2012).
SS Karthikeya, Rajamouli’s son, wrote on X that the 93-year-old director stayed the whole day.
“But we were surprised—he came today, along with his wife, and stayed straight to watch both films and the masterclass. These are the moments that inspire us and remind us why we are in cinema,” he posted.
Rajamouli also expressed his gratitude to the veteran Greek-French director.
“My deepest gratitude to the legendary Mr Costa-Gavras and the entire Cinémathèque Française family for this honour, and for embracing Indian cinema with such warmth and love,” Rajamouli wrote.
Before Rajamouli, Satyajit Ray was honoured by the Cinémathèque Française in 1982, which hosted a retrospective of his 28 feature films and eight short films following his passing in 1992.
Ray had personally donated several of his original drawings, storyboards, scripts, and notes. The institution also features a virtual exhibition known as La Cinémathèque imaginaire de Satyajit Ray, which details a 1990 conversation in which Ray listed 43 of his favourite, culturally defining films for aspiring filmmakers, including Top Hat (1935), A Night at the Opera (1935), and Ugetsu (1953), with the list beginning with The Gold Rush (1925).
(Edited by Insha Jalil Waziri)