Sometimes a politically aligned choice is made only if there is enough privilege to take that risk, says actor Kani Kusruti, who reflects on her career post the historic win of her film All We Imagine as Light at Cannes, which has brought back in focus her past film choices. The actor, before she earned acclaim for the Payal Kapadia directorial, touched upon the controversy surrounding the politics of her Malayalam film Biriyaani, which had won her a state award in 2020. Discussion on the controversial film resurfaced after she was seen at the Cannes red carpet carrying a watermelon bag in solidarity with Palestine. While Kusruti was lauded for her brave stand on a global podium, a section of social media user also sneered at the "hypocrisy" of the actor, as her film Biriyaani was allegedly Islamophobic. "I do not have the privilege to choose only the films that align with my politics," the actor told Manorama News as she defended her past choices. The actor said she came on board to star in Biriyaani after voicing her disagreements over its politics to its director Sajin Baabu but did the film due to financial difficulties. "I had told Sajin that neither my politics nor aesthetics were aligned with the script. Sajin comes from a backward Muslim community and speaks his politics, which is correct in its own right. But that is not my politics,” she said. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Salt Studio (@saltstudio) In the same interview, the actor then revealed that she had turned down an audition call for filmmaker Sudipto Sen's next film. He is best known for helming the 2023 hit The Kerala Story, which had polarised people with its Islamophobic politics and narrative. Kani Kusruti said she would firmly reject films which do not align with her politics if the circumstances are favourable. A report in The News Minute claimed that Biriyaani director Sajin had faced criticism from sections of the Muslim community for allegedly normalising Muslim men joining the terror outfit ISIS and exaggerating the prevalence of female genital mutilation (FGM) among the community in Kerala. Payal Kapadia became the first Indian filmmaker to win the Grand Prix award, the second highest honour at the 77th Cannes Film Festival, for her Malayalam-Hindi feature film All We Imagine As Light. Apart from Kani Kusruti, the film also stars Divya Prabha, Azees Haneefa, Hridhu Haroon, Lovleen Misra and Chhaya Kadam.
