Payal Kapadia still fending off idiots
All We Imagine As Actually Buying Tickets and Watching a Movie
It’s been six months since Payal Kapadia’s All We Imagine As Light (AWIAL) burst onto the scene, snagging the second-most prestigious prize at Cannes. And she just cannot catch a break. Internationally, she’s been breezing through award circuits, jurying at countless film festivals, and patiently responding to podcast hosts who insist on having her explain her own genius. But back home? She’s fending off the loudest and dumbest, invigorated by one shared goal: tearing down the success of other Indians, especially a young woman.
First, she had to dive headfirst into the cesspool we are still calling Twitter (no, thank you, Elon) when an impersonator account popped up. This account, previously busy posting hot takes on Bihar politics (a niche, but okay), suddenly started QT-ing congratulatory tweets from big handles (yes, including the prime minister) with cringe thank-you-sirs. Naturally, Payal had to hop on, roll up her sleeves, and shut it all down faster than you could say “regime-sympathizer.”
Then came the engagement-farming X patriots, whose main concern is preserving the pristine image of the nation while doing absolutely nothing for it. They slammed her film as poverty porn and lesbian propaganda with the damning evidence of 4 posters and a 2-minute trailer—because, surprise, the movie wasn’t even released yet. If anyone out there knows how to counter criticisms made out of thin air, please let Payal know. She needs you.
Not to be outdone, 13 boomer men joined the chat. The Film Federation of India jury—whose apparent motto is “participation, not domination”—decided not to send AWIAL, the most internationally acclaimed Indian film of the year, as the country’s Oscar submission for widely ridiculed reasons. “Technically very poor”, “doesn’t feel like an Indian film” — so many ways to not say we got lobbied by Aamir Khan and what’s another year of no Oscar wins when we already have a 90 years of it.
But then, hope. An outpouring of supportive tweets! Rana Daggubati buying the India distribution rights! Can you blame Payal for thinking she’d actually done it? That her movie might pave the way for art house cinema to finally break into the mainstream in India? That all those brave keyboard warriors amplifying every new award win might actually turn up and pay to watch it?
They didn’t.
The projectionists at the theater didn’t even bother setting the aspect ratio correctly or turning on the subtitles—because, shocker, that’s how many people showed up to see the movie they swore they’d watch with their girlfriends, #sisterhood and all. Payal, astonishingly still patient, live-tweeted the debacle, begging everyone to at least project the film properly. She wasn’t even asking you to like it—just show it the way it’s meant to be shown!
Perhaps still slightly lightheaded from her international triumphs and unaware of her country’s relationship with effort, Payal even asked cinephiles to comment their cities if they wanted screenings. And they did! Except they didn’t first check if the movie was already playing in their cities (it was). Ever the optimist, Payal pasted the BookMyShow links into replies, hoping they might actually click and buy tickets.
Should we tell her? Should we let Payal know that these cinephiles were hoping for a free screening they could attend just to post an Instagram story about it?
Nah.