New Delhi, May 24 (IANS): "Will this 'magical' ode to nocturnal Mumbai win the Palme d'Or?"

The question asked by the BBC's reviewer, Nicholas Barber, after watching Payal Kapadia's debut feature film, 'All We Imagine As Light', must have been uppermost in the minds of an audience that gave the film's cast and crew an eight-minute standing ovation.

In the Cannes tradition, the longer the applause, the better the chances of the film returning home with a trophy. The longest applause thus far at the festival has been for nine minutes and 30 seconds for the Italian auteur Paolo Sorrentino's 'Parthenope', where Gary Oldman plays the American writer John Cheever.

In a video now circulating of the moment after the film's screening, in fact, shows one of the cast members, Hridu Haroon, asking, "The applause has been going on for too long. Shouldn't it stop?"

The video shows the cast members soaking in their eight minutes of fame and hugging each other heartily, unable to contain their joy.

Kani Kusruti, whom viewers outside Kerala know better for playing the private secretary of Huma Qureshi's character in the OTT series 'Maharani', followed in the footsteps of Cate Blanchett and Leila Bekhri and showed her solidarity for the Palestinian people's struggle, flaunting her watermelon clutch and flashing a 'V' sign.

The colours of the watermelon -- deep green and red -- are those of the Palestinian flag.

As noted by News Minute, the watermelon became a symbol of Palestinian resistance in 1967 after Israel militarily seized control of the West Bank and Gaza, and annexed East Jerusalem. And to circumvent the Israeli government's ban on the Palestinian flag being displayed anywhere in Gaza and the West Bank, people started using watermelons.

Chhaya Kadam, another cast member who has become everyone's favourite railway platform feminist after her stellar performance in 'Laapataa Ladies', sported an oversized 'nath' on her nose as a tribute to the traditions of her home state Maharashtra.

The BBC, meanwhile, does not stint on its praise for the film and goes on to note: "Given that the Competition jury is chaired by Greta Gerwig, and this warm, female-led film resembles her own work in certain ways, 'All We Imagine as Light' could well be a winner when the Festival's prizes are announced on Saturday evening."

And it predicts with a degree of certainty: "Whether Kapadia takes home a trophy or not, 'All We Imagine As Light' is bound to be one of those international films that break out of the art-house festival circuit and into cinemas and hearts everywhere."

Payal Kapadia is no stranger to Cannes glory. In 2021, her documentary feature, 'A Night of Knowing Nothing', won the L'Oeil d'Or, an award given every year since 2015 to the best in the category. Now, it's the Palme d'Or that beckons. Will she come back home with it?