The 58th National awards saw Aadukalam win in as many as six categories. Following this triumph, members of the cast and crew met the chief minister, J Jayalalitha and received her hearty congratulations and best wishes for the future. The entire team came in for praise for the brilliant work done on Aadukalam.
Anjitha:1569
Film: 'Vimukthi'; Director: P. Sheshadri; Cast: Bhavana, Ramakrishna, Eknath Nagarkar, Venkata Rao, Hoda and Baby Sania Iyer; Music: Praveen Godkindi; Rating:****
National Award winning film 'Vimukthi', which has released now in a few theatres in Bangalore, is certainly one of the best by director P. Sheshadri, who takes up stories revolving around contemporary social and political issues.
'Vimukthi', written by Sheshadri himself, is based on a Kannada newspaper article published a couple of years ago.
It relates to the sick inmates of Mukthi Bhavan in Varanasi who are waiting for their death and their last rites are performed by volunteers there. All these inmates are either deserted by their own relatives or have come to Varanasi on their own to die in the holy temple town.
Taking cue from the article, Sheshadri has created a story of a young woman who is not just very close to her father but very possessive about him. Sheshadri has written the story after thorough research on Electra Complex, a psychological disorder among young girls who are extremely possessive about their father.
The filmmaker has narrated the story in an engaging manner unlike the narrative seen in some of his previous films. There is no confusion and all the sequences are linked perfectly. The film has been shot in Varanasi and Bangalore.
Sheshadri's characterization is apt though the editing could have been a little sharper. The climax of the film is another highlight when the daughter searches for her own identity and decides to unite with her husband in the process of finding her father.
The music by Praveen Godkindi complements the narration. He has used background music only when necessary.
The film revolves around Keshava Rao, a well-known painter and artist who is very attached to his daughter Madhavi. But Madhavi is so possessive about her father that she doesn't like him interacting closely with even his own female students.
A troubled childhood leads Madhavi to think about her father all the time at the cost of her personal life - she distances herself from her husband and lives as a single mother. Keshava Rao then moves away from Madhavi and then her search begins.
After nearly eight years, she finds an article in a newspaper with a Varanasi dateline that has a copy of a painting of her father. She then goes in search of her father but finds him moving away from her again. Madhavi finally is happy to know that her father is not dead and decides to make up with her estranged husband.
'Vimukthi' is a well enacted film with Bhavana and Ramakrishna coming out with flying colours. Veteran artistes like Venkatarao and Eknath Agarkal really shine despite the limited opportunity.
The camera work of S. Ramachandra is outstanding.
'Vimukthi', which won the National Award for best regional film, is certainly one of the best parallel movies to hit screens in Karnataka in recent times.
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While Priyanka won the best actress award for her power-packed performance in Madhur Bhandarkar's FASHION, than Kangna Ranaut (FASHION) and Arjun Rampal (ROCK ON) were adjudged Best Supporting Actor and Actress for their films respectively.
Here's the list of other people who bagged the most desirable award:
Best Film: Bengali film ANTAHEEN
Best Director: Tamil filmmaker Bala for his film NAAN KADAVUL
Best Hindi Film: ROCK ON
Best Actor: Upendra Limaye for Marathi film JOGWA.
Best Debut Film: A WEDNESDAY
Best Special Effects: MUMBAI MERI JAAN
Best Popular Film: OYE LUCKY LUCKY OYE
Best Male Singer: Hariharan
Best Female Singer: Shreya Ghoshal
Best Animation Film: ROADSIDE ROMEO
Best Editing: FIRAAQ
Best Children Film: Kannada film GUBACHIGALU
Best Jury Award: Malayalam film BIOSCOPE
Best Music Direction: Shams Patel for Hindi film THANKS MAA
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P. Sheshadri, whose 'Vimukthi' has bagged the National Award for best regional film, is the only Kannada film director to have won five awards for all the five films he has directed so far.
Voicing happiness at bagging the award yet again, Sheshadri said it is difficult to get producers to back film scripts dwelling on contemporary social issues.
Unable to get the right producers, Sheshadri organises the finance for his own films.
'Getting a good producer to back my scripts is not all that easy. Girish Kasaravalli sir is a big name and he has been backed by producers who are committed and are convinced of his ability to make internationally acclaimed films,' Sheshadri told IANS.
'The only exception is actor Jayamala who produced a film like Thuththoori', which won the best film on environmental issues National Award,' Sheshadri said. He has released all his films in theatres.
'I know I cannot market my films with the limited resources in my command. But still I want to release all my films in theatres and want people interested in such ventures to get an opportunity to see the films in theatres,' says Sheshadri.
His first film 'Munnudi' (2000) had won the best film on social issues National Award. He got a big recognition for his first film as it was able to win a similar award from the state government too. His other films 'Athithi', 'Thuththoori', 'Beru' and 'Vimukthi' have won him National Awards.
It is significant that actor Prakash Raj who won last year's National Award had acted in 'Athithi' without taking any money.
'I was inspired by Sheshadri's script. I just accepted the offer and told him that he should not pay me anything since his script was invaluable,' said Prakash Raj, who had played the role of a terrorist in the film.
Sheshadri has been making and directing television serials and his films are getting wide recognition in the country and also abroad for the way he handles sensitive themes.
vpost :07
in New York Saturday, the last thing Priyanka Chopra was expecting to hear was that she had won her first National Film Award. She jumped out of bed in sheer joy when she got the news.
'It feels soooooo fantastic! It's 5 in the morning here (New York) and my phone has been ringing non-stop since about an hour. I am so excited,' Priyanka told IANS over the phone from New York, where she has been shooting for Siddharth Anand's 'Anjaana Anjaani'.
The 27-year-old has won her first ever National Film Award for her performance in Madhur Bhandarkar's 'Fashion'. She says she is glad that she agreed to do the film.
'When Madhur approached me for this film, I was terrified about how complex the character was. But I am glad that I did it,' she said.
Though Priyanka has already won several awards including a Filmfare best actress award for her portrayal of a struggling model in the film, she says the National Award is most special.
'This is a National Award! I was just not expecting this and especially because there are several regional films and actors competing for it. One can't keep track of the nominations at all. But this feels just great. After having won 15 awards for 'Fashion' so far, I feel I have come full circle with this one,' she said.
Instead of celebrating her success, the actress says she was looking forward to the morning shoot scheduled for 'Anjaana Anjaani', in which she is featuring opposite Ranbir Kapoor.
'I have a shoot tomorrow morning. So I just want to sleep right now so that I wake up fresh. I will be in a mood for celebration, but the shooting will definitely happen. It is my bread and butter - and also what will hopefully - yes hopefully, fetch me my next National award,' she joked.
Priyanka, who made her Bollywood debut in 2003, says she received the most special congratulatory call from her parents. Her father Ashok Chopra had shed tears after watching 'Fashion' in 2008 because he was touched with his daughter's performance, and he cried now again after hearing about her victory.
'My father called me up and said he is ecstatic and extremely proud of me. He had tears again. He is happy because I have achieved so much in such a short span of my career, and that makes him really proud,' she added.
Priyanka, who won the Miss World title in 2000, made her Bollywood debut with 'The Hero: Love Story of a Spy' and then featured in 'Andaaz', for which she even won a Filmfare best female debut award.
In 2004, she delivered a critically acclaimed performance in 'Aitraaz' and later did commercial films like 'Mujhse Shaadi Karogi', 'Bluffmaster', 'Krrish', 'Don - The Chase Begins Again', 'Salaam-E-Ishq', et al. But it was 'Fashion' that brought her into the league of top-rated actresses in Bollywood.
She has, since then, given commercial hits like 'Dostana' and 'Kaminey' and also featured in films like 'What's Your Rashee', and more recently in 'Pyaar Impossible', which didn't fare too well at the box office.
She is hoping to strike gold again with 'Anjaana Anjaani' and Vishal Bharadwaj's 'Seven Husbands'.
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