Manju Mai from 'Laapataa Ladies' aka Chhaya Kadam to attend 2024 Cannes Film Festival 

Chhaya Kadam in Laapataa Ladies Pic/Instagram

Actress Chhaya Kadam, who is winning hearts with her stellar performances as Manju Mai in Kiran Rao's directorial ‘Laapataa Ladies' and Kanchan Kombdi in Kunal Kemmu's directorial ‘Madgaon Express' is looking forward to attending the 2024 Cannes Film Festival. She will be present at the premiere of Payal Kapadia's ‘All We Imagine As Light', which is part of the main competition. She is also excited about Radhika Apte-starrer ‘Sister Midnight', a film to be screened in the film gala's sidebar section Director's Fortnight.

"I am very happy. This is a beautiful moment in my life and I am enjoying it without thinking too much about what's next," she told PTI.

Chhaya grew up in the suburbs of Mumbai in Kalina and wanted to be a Kabaddi player or join the police force and was later interesting in opening a gym. She ventured into acting after doing a workshop with theatre veteran and former National School of Drama director Waman Kendre in 2001 which got her into showbiz.

Kadam said she is surprised the character has resonated with not just the youth but also women of different age groups.

"I recently spoke to Sneha Desai, the writer of 'Laapataa Ladies', when the film released on OTT. She asked me, 'Kaisa lag raha hai? (how do you feel?)' I told her that whenever I receive any praise, she comes to my mind because Manju Mai's thoughts were shaped by her and Kiran," she added.

Kadam has worked in several renowned projects like ‘Fandry', ‘Kaun Pravin Tambe?', ‘Andhadhun' and ‘Gangubai Kathiawadi'.

"Sometimes, I feel Manju Mai was written for me. I have that woman inside me. I didn't marry, somehow never got around to it and now I am enjoying living on my own. I felt Manju Mai was also teaching me. I receive so many calls from women who were confused but now feel inspired by Manju Mai," she said.

After she comes back from Cannes, Kadam plans to take a small break and spend time in her village in Dhamapur in the Konkan region of Maharashtra.

"I am still hungry (for work) but when I will spend time there, I will empty out all the praise that has come to me and start from scratch. I don't want to forget my initial hunger as an actor. People in my village are simple. For them, I am not Chhaya Kadam, the actor, but their 'Chhaya'," she concluded.

(With inputs from PTI)