Filmmaker Payal Kapadia Brings Mumbai to Life in “All We Imagine as Light

Have you ever watched a film that transports you so deeply that you wish to live in its world? For Indian filmmaker Payal Kapadia, Wong Kar-wai’s Chungking Express had such an impact. Captivated by its unique aura of romantic longing as a teenager, Kapadia wanted to visit Hong Kong and lose herself in its vibrant, neon-lit streets.

“I was really into that movie,” Kapadia recalls. Years later, when she finally got to Hong Kong, she made a point to visit Hong Kong Mansions, the sprawling complex featured prominently in Wong’s film. However, the reality didn’t quite match the dreamy allure the film had conjured.

“Because how could it not?” she says, laughing. “It’s all Wong Kar-wai. But it did make me think about subjectivity and all the feelings that can be infused into a movie’s setting to make it so much more delightful.”

Drawing inspiration from her teenage experience and what she learned at India’s Film & Television Institute, Kapadia poured her insights into her first feature film, All We Imagine as Light, releasing at the Laemmle Royal. The movie presents Mumbai with the same vibrancy Wong brought to Hong Kong, depicting both the chaos of the city by day and the haunting stillness of rain-soaked streets at night. The story revolves around three women: Prabha (Kani Kusruti), a serious-minded nurse; Anu (Divya Prabha), her young roommate; and Parvaty (Chhaya Kadam), an activist and widow recently displaced by property developers.

Men appear in the narrative, though their presence is complicated. Prabha’s husband, arranged through marriage, lives in Germany, and it’s unclear when or if he’ll return; meanwhile, Anu has a boyfriend, Shiaz (Hridhu Haroon), but their relationship must remain hidden due to religious differences—Anu is Hindu, and Shiaz is Muslim.

With an intimate portrayal of their lives, All We Imagine as Light blends personal and political elements. The film became the first Indian feature in nearly 30 years to compete at Cannes, where it won the Grand Prix. Praised as a beautiful, empathetic depiction of a city and its people, the film’s portrayal of Mumbai could leave viewers eager to visit.

On a warm Sunday in October, Kapadia has just arrived in Los Angeles from San Francisco and is seated at a Beverly Hills hotel restaurant, keeping out of the sun. A waiter offers them bottomless mimosas.

“That sounds like a very L.A. thing,” Kapadia says, smiling. She passes on the mimosas, saving her energy for events for her film later in the day. However, she accepts caviar on a small pancake, her first time trying it. “One doesn’t say no to caviar,” she jokes. Nibbling it, she comments, “It’s salty. But it’s really not that nice.” The pancake, however, earns her approval.

Kapadia, 38, finds herself intrigued by America. “I’m amazed at this country,” she says. “It’s baffling, but interesting. Just the whole of it and the general happiness. But I’ve been going to very liberal cities in America, so I get the sense that this is a great country where people are really expressing themselves. ‘Wow, America is so accepting.’ But it’s the same in India. You can have many different Indias, just as, I suppose, you can have many different Americas.”

Growing up, Kapadia was surrounded by creative influences—her mother, Nalini Malani, is a well-known video artist. Watching her mother edit films sparked Kapadia’s interest in film, and in high school, she joined a film club that showed works by directors like Werner Herzog, Andrei Tarkovsky, and Satyajit Ray. By college, Kapadia was a regular at documentary and world cinema festivals in Mumbai.

“My family was always supportive,” she says, “which is why, as a woman, I could be a filmmaker. There would be so many people in my country who would think, ‘Why is the daughter pursuing higher education in the first place?’ Or they would only have enough money to pay for the son to go to college. I am very privileged. To make films is very difficult.”

The Film & Television Institute of India is highly selective, admitting only 10 students per discipline each year. Kapadia got in on her second attempt, and after graduating in 2018, she began writing All We Imagine as Light. During this time, she also created A Night of Knowing Nothing, a documentary about student protests against the Hindu nationalist policies of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Kapadia views All We Imagine as Light as a political film, though it is not overtly so. In one scene, a character says they’ve lived in Mumbai for 23 years but still feel like an outsider.

“Mumbai is a perilous city—even its geography is in a state of flux,” Kapadia says. “Historically, it was just seven islands that was bridged by the British East India Company to make it a port because they lost their port in Surat. So the whole premise of the city comes from a super-capitalistic, colonialist past. And the city remains in a state of flux. Developers are grabbing areas where people have lived for years. Women move there to feel more liberated, but there’s an impermanence as well.”

The instability Kapadia sees in Mumbai reflects in Anu’s relationship with Shiaz, whose different religious backgrounds cast a shadow over their future together. A tender love scene between the two conveys both “romance and this girl’s desires—and also freedom,” Kapadia notes.

After wrapping filming in November, Kapadia headed to Paris, where the film’s post-production took place with a French team. She was in the thick of editing when Cannes selected the movie. In the lead-up to the festival, she worked up to 18-hour days.

“It was intense,” says Ranabir Das, the cinematographer. “After a point, we lost perspective because of the long days, so we were not 100% sure if the film was finished or if the edit was right. It became difficult because we were working on instinct itself.”

Kapadia has a more straightforward take: “When we turned it in, I was like, ‘I don’t know what it is. I don’t know what I’ve done.’” She laughs at the memory.

The film’s premiere at Cannes was a nerve-wracking moment for Kapadia, who watched with one eye shut. When it ended, the audience responded with a standing ovation. Kapadia’s joy was captured on camera, her smile widening in relief. Celebrating with her cast, crew, and mother afterward, they shared in her achievement.

Her mother’s response? “She told me she needed to watch it again,” Kapadia says. “Then she went again the next day. She liked it a lot. I discussed this film, all the layers and contexts, with her over many, many years. She was happy that, regardless of all the ups and downs, that it finally came together.”

Though All We Imagine as Light was shortlisted by France for an Oscar entry, the committee ultimately selected Jacques Audiard’s Emilia Pérez, while India chose Laapataa Ladies. However, its Oscar prospects are not over. Last year, Anatomy of a Fall was nominated in multiple categories despite being passed over by France.

As we talked, Kapadia was more focused on her film’s premiere at the MAMI Mumbai Film Festival and her next project, another film set in Mumbai. A giant butterfly fluttered by as she shared her thoughts on the creative journey.

“Yeah, it’s hard to ignore it,” she says, laughing. “Even the butterflies are bigger here.”

As Kapadia wraps up, she reflects on her experience: “This is all lovely,” she says. But she’s ready to go back to work. “It’s what I live for. Those years making this movie were stressful, but it also made me want to work more. It’s what I’m happiest doing.”