Neeraj Ghaywan's 'Masaan' chosen for Cannes gala

Indian filmmaker Neeraj Ghaywan's debut feature "Masaan", starring the versatile Richa Chadda, has been chosen to be screened in the official UnCertain Regard section of the 68th edition of the Cannes International Film Festival.

The announcement was made in Cannes on Thursday.

"#Cannes2015 MASAAN (FLY AWAY SOLO) by Neeraj GHAYWAN #UnCertainRegard," read a tweet on the @Festival_Cannes Twitter handle, while the official press conference to announce the line-up for the gala was being held in Cannes.

Ghaywan is naturally happy with the development.

Retweeting the tweet on the micro-blogging website, he posted: "PHHEEEWWW!!!!!!!!"

Richa, whose "Gangs Of Wasseypur" was also screened at Cannes, said she is "thrilled to be going again to Cannes with a movie".

"Over the moon, and excited about this for India and the team of 'Masaan'. Thanks Neeraj for casting me, and the producers for backing this film. It's a huge deal," she added.

Congratulating the team, actor-director Rajat Kapoor wrote: "Neeraj Ghaywan's Masaan in 'un certain regard' at Cannes this year!!!! wah wah - mubarak all the friends who were a part of that film."

Lyricist Swanand Kirkire shared: "Now this is something I was dying to hear @Festival_Cannes: #Cannes2015 MASAAN (FLY AWAY SOLO) by Neeraj GHAYWAN #UnCertainRegard."

Apart from Richa, who has proven her acting acumen in films like "Oye Lucky! Lucky Oye!", "Gangs Of Wasseypur", "Fukrey" and "Tamanchey", the film stars young talent Shweta Tripathi, who was in the news for winning the Best Actress award at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) for "Haraamkhor".

Before leaving for IFFLA, Shweta had told IANS: "'Masaan' is a Phantom Films production. Not allowed to talk much about it yet. But that is very different from my character in 'Haraamkhor'."

The Cannes film fest is due to be held from May 13-24.