What we always celebrate is the language of cinema: Alia Bhatt at BAFTA Awards

New Delhi: Alia Bhatt, who made her debut as a presenter at the 79th edition of the BAFTA Awards, surprised fans by starting her speech in Hindi to make a point about the universal nature of cinematic language.

Bhatt presented the ‘Best Film not in the English Language’ category BAFTA to Norwegian filmmaker Joachim Trier for his film ‘Sentimental Value’ at the ceremony.

“Namaskar! Agla award ek aisi film ke liye hai, jo angrezi mein nahi hai,” Bhatt said.

She added, “Don’t reach for the subtitles just yet. I was only saying in Hindi that the next award is for a film not in the English language. Because while film speaks in countless voices, what we always celebrate is the language of cinema. And that one we all speak fluently. And the incredible nominees are.”

Bhatt then opened the envelope to reveal the winner. ‘Sentimental Value’, which is also nominated in multiple categories at the Oscars, was the first Norwegian film to win at BAFTA.

“We live in a time when images are thrown at us at a rapid speed we could imagine. A lot of these images are seen on our phones and a lot of these images are trying to sell us the ideas, things and ideology and they are seeking to persuade us to try to use the moving image for that. I feel that the films this year are the films that are made for deep viewing, for humanist viewing where we can sit together in rooms like this and experience seeing the other, hopefully, through empathy, curiosity and open up the possibility of the theatrical experience for that,” Trier said while accepting the award.

Bhatt was among a star-studded lineup of celebrities as presenters, which included the names of Alicia Vikander, Bryan Cranston, Cillian Murphy, Delroy Lindo, Emily Watson, Ethan Hawke, Gillian Anderson, Glenn Close, Hannah Waddingham, Monica Bellucci, Rege-Jean Page, Riz Ahmed, Stellan Skarsgard, and others.