• "All We Imagine as Light," an art-house film, is gaining recognition in Bollywood-dominated India.
• The film, set in Mumbai, has won several international awards and has been nominated for the Golden Globes.
• Despite not being India's official submission, it has made entries to the Academy Awards for best picture, director, and original screenplay.
• The film's success highlights the importance of diversity in cinema and the changing tastes of Indian audiences.

In a nation where Bollywood extravaganzas are the norm, an art-house film is making waves, earning international recognition and gaining viewers. The film, titled All We Imagine as Light, is set in Mumbai, India's financial capital. It is a multi-language narrative about three women navigating loneliness and love in a metropolis. The film has won several international awards this year, including the Grand Prix at Cannes, and is the first Indian film to be nominated in the Best Director category at the Golden Globes. It has also been nominated in the Best Picture category for non-English movies.

The film's director, Payal Kapadia, expressed her delight at the response her debut film has received in her home country, in addition to the accolades it has earned abroad. She acknowledged the difficulty independent films face in getting screens in India, where audiences are typically drawn to Bollywood and other mainstream films. However, she expressed her desire to show the film in smaller cities where it has not yet been screened.

The film has also made entries to the Academy Awards for best picture, best director, and best original screenplay, according to a representative from Sideshow and Janus Films, which own the distribution rights in the U.S. However, it was not India's official submission to the Best Foreign Film category at the Oscars.

A Tale of Friendship and Love in Mumbai

The film's story revolves around the friendship and love lives of three immigrant women who live and work in Mumbai, a congested metropolis of more than 12 million people. Kapadia described Mumbai as a city of many contradictions, where life can be tough, but it also gives people a sense of freedom. This dichotomy is captured in the film.

The film's success is a testament to the changing tastes of Indian audiences, who are slowly embracing more serious content on streaming platforms. With more than $2 million in box office sales globally, All We Imagine as Light is a shining example of the potential of independent, art-house films in a Bollywood-obsessed nation.

In other news, former U.S. President Barack Obama picked All We Imagine as Light as one of his favorite films of the year, sharing this on social media. This endorsement from a prominent figure like Obama further underscores the film's global appeal and recognition.

The Importance of Diversity in Cinema

The film's success also highlights the importance of diversity in cinema. In an interview, Kapadia emphasized the diversity of Mumbai, a city made up of people from all over the country and beyond. She argued that this diversity is beneficial for better and organic thoughts and ideas, a sentiment that is reflected in her film.