Taking to Twitter on Saturday to express his gratitude, Suriya said: "Ever grateful Sudha! Hearty congratulations to all the winners. This one's for you Anbana fans!! #SooraraiPottru #NationalFilmAwards."
The actor also responded to a tweet by Ajay Devgn, who had along with Suriya jointly won the Best Actor Award for his role in the Hindi film, 'Tanhaji - The Unsung Warrior'.
Ajay Devgn had initially tweeted: "It was fantastic to share time with my esteemed colleague & fellow best actor award winner, Suriya. Deeply respect his talent and love his movies."
Suriya responded to Ajay's tweet: "Thank you for the love and warmth sir! So nice to have shared this moment with youa Lots of respect. Waiting for 'Kaithi' and the next 'Singham'."
'Soorarai Pottru', which was partly inspired by events from the life of Air Deccan founder Captain G. R. Gopinath, swept five National Awards including the awards for Best Feature Film, Best Actor and Best Actress at the 68th National Film Awards.
Ashok Satpathy from Bhadrak district and Ajit Kumar Sethy from Ganjam district are the meritorious teachers from Odisha who were conferred with the national award. These awards were in honour of the teachers who have contributed in improving the lives of students and helped in shaping their future.
Both the teachers, Ashok Satpathy and Ajit Kumar Sethy shared their experiences after receiving the national award from the President of India during the virtual event today.
Besides, Ollywood actress Prakruti Mishra has been selected to receive the Special Mention award at the 65th National Awards for her performance in ‘Hello Arsi.’
Reacting to the development, Mishra stated, “I am quite happy. We have done a lot of hard work for ‘Hello Arsi’ and finally got the rewards. ‘Hello Arsi’ has won the Best Film award and the special jury award (Best Actress). I am so happy that I cannot express it in words. On this occasion I would like to remember director Sambit Mohanty, whom we lost a couple of months back. The award has made his dreams comes true.”
She also thanked Producer Ajay Routray, Cinematographer Prashant, co-actor Partha and the entire team of ‘Hello Arsi.’
Because of its simplicity and sensible storyline, the film has been highly acclaimed by critics, she added.
The I&B ministry which announced the awards today, chose Vinod Khanna for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award, while Sridevi will posthumously receive Best Actress award for ‘MOM.’ Newton was adjudged best hindi film at the awards.
The award presentation ceremony will be held in New Delhi on May 3.
Meanwhile, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik congratulated the ‘Hello Arsi’ team after the announcement of the awards.
https://twitter.com/Naveen_Odisha/status/984699409471422464
Winning accolades for his creativity, Roshan was lauded by the PM for winning the national level painting competition titled ‘Mo Swapnara Swacchha Bharat’ a Government of India initiative. The young lad from Kalahandi was awarded at Gandhi Jayanti function organized at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi on Monday. Roshan also happens to be the youngest fine artist to bag a National award.
Hailing from Bhangabari village under Sadar police limits of Kalahandi district, Roshan is student of Bhangabari Upper Primary school. While his father works as a labourer in Tamil Nadu, rest of family are engaged in agriculture and pottery works. Though he hails from a poor family that struggles to make both ends meet, that has never deterred the boy from giving wings to his imagination through his paintings which he started doing pretty early in life.
[caption id="attachment_245466" align="alignright" width="336"] Roshan's painting[/caption]
As a part of the competition, Roshan participated in the district level and stood first and went on to win the state level competition as well to get through to the national level. Also winning the national award, Roshan received a cash award of Rs 1 lakh along with a Letter of Appreciation from the Prime Minister.
Awaiting his return from Delhi, Roshan’s mother has been restless to welcome her son back. Even the villagers are also excited to receive the little painter who brought to limelight an otherwise unknown village. “He has learnt everything on his own and shows a lot of interest in drawing anything he sees, be it natural landscape or human faces. He has made us all proud. I hope he succeeds in all his future endeavours and goes places,” his mother Mohini Rana said to OTV.
His teacher in school is also full of appreciation for the class V student. ‘’A good student, Roshan has always shown promise through his paintings,’’ said headmistress of his school.
New Delhi/Bhubaneswar: Mumbai-based Odia filmmaker Soumendra Padhi received the National Award from President Pranab Mukherjee at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi on Tuesday.
Padhi got the prestigious award in the Best Children’s Film (National) Category for his debut film ‘Duronto’ at the 63rd edition of the award.
Speaking to odishatv.in after receiving the award, Padhi said, “I am very happy for the award. Duronto has been made with an honest intention of showing Budhia’s story to the world.”
This film deals with the phase of Budhia’s life when he met his coach Biranchi Das, his rise as a child prodigy and his subsequent downfall.
Pune-based child actor Mayur essays Budhia’s role while Tillotama Shome plays the boy’s mother Sukanti Singh. A major portion of the movie was shot in Bhubaneswar.
“We are planning to release the film by end of 2016 but we are looking for a suitable date to avoid a clash with other big Bollywood releases,” the filmmaker said.
Acclaimed Bollywood actor Manoj Bajpai, who plays the role of Biranchi Das (coach of Budhia Singh), said he is eagerly waiting for the film’s release this year to know people’s response to a great story.
Besides Padhi, another top filmmaker from Odisha Sabyasachi Mohapatra also received the National award in the regional film category.
Mohapatra’s film ‘Pahada Ra Luha’ (Tears of Mountain), which chronicles 25 years of the life of innocent tribals of Odisha in the backdrop of political transformations and Maoist insurgency, won as ‘Best Odia Feature Film’ at the 63rd National Film Awards.
The 63rd National film Awards were presented to Bollywood stars Amitabh Bachchan, Kangana Ranaut in the best actor and actress category for ‘Piku’ and Tanu Weds Manu Returns’ respectively.
Sanjay Leela Bhansali won the best director honours for his historical romance ‘Bajirao Mastani’.
The winners were presented the trophies by the President in the glittering function at Vigyan Bhawan in New Delhi.
‘Adima Bichara’ won the Best Odia Feature Film award. Directed by Mohapatra, the film was selected for its strong portrayal of a tribal community whose enabling humanism shows a way out of pettiness and prejudice.
The movie is based on a century-old story written by Mohapatra’s father Kapileswar Prasad. Mohapatra, best known for making cinema based on rich Odia culture, had earlier helmed popular films like ‘Bahudibe Mo Jaga Balia’, ‘Sabu Mayara Baya’, ‘Bou’ and ‘Sala Budha’.
The film, being directed by Navdeep Singh of ‘Manorama Six Feet Under’ fame, marks the maiden production of the ‘PK’ actress under her banner Clean Slate Films. The thriller will see Anushka and Neil Bhoopalam in the lead roles.
Speaking on his latest project, Sahoo said, “NH10 is a road movie and brains like Anurag Kashyap, Vikas Bhal and Vikramaditya Motwane are also behind it, so it would be very a meaningful movie.”
“The film is now in its post-production stage and it will release later this year,” he added.
Sahoo, who has studied in the prestigious Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune, has worked as a sound engineer for more than 50 films, including short films and documentaries.
He got high appreciation for his craft in the Vishal Bharadwaj-directed film ‘Omkara’ in 2006 and bagged his first national award for best sound designing. He received the award for the second time for best audiography for Bharadwaj’s 2009 dark thriller ‘Kaminey’ with Sahid Kapur and Priyanka Chopra in lead roles.
The veteran technician has also worked in Bollywood blockbusters like Ajay Devgan-starrer ‘Once Upon A Time in Mumbai’, among others.
Sahoo, who hails from Kendrapada district in Odisha, is very selective when it comes to signing up films. As he said, “A film director should equally understand the importance of sound designing like other aspects of filmmaking.”
The Bollywood sound designer has also worked in Odia film ‘Nila Mastarani”, directed by Chakradhar Sahoo and got the State award for it in 1996.
Once wanted to be an actor, Sahoo finally shot to fame as a brilliant sound designer and settled in Mumbai with his wife, a son and a daughter.
The reason given for 'A' certificate is that the theme of the film is "very dense and serious". It is suitable only for mature audience.
"It will release on September 21," Gupta told IANS.
But he isn't too excited.
A letter by the Revising Committee reads that the film is not suitable for unrestricted public exhibition but may be suitable for public exhibition restricted to adults provided he carries out excisions/modifications in the film.
The filmmaker has been asked to delete the entire item song "Khabrein garam", delete the word 'Kaali' from the dialogue 'Kaali pooja' wherever it appears, the word 'Mantriji' to be replaced with 'Netaji' wherever it appears and reference of 'Dava/injection' for hormone to be deleted/muted.
Gupta said: "If they feel that item songs should not be part of Indian cinema then they need to delete item songs from each and every film from now onwards.
"I spent lakhs of rupees in making that song and the song is clean. I am ready to cooperate with the censor board but then rules should be for everyone and they should not target independent filmmakers."
"Pakhi" was supposed to release on August 10 but it was not granted a certificate by the CBFC due to its "crude" content.
At a suburban restaurant, Kangana will have brunch with over 100 children of the Smile Foundation and will support the initiative QaukerFeedAChild, read a statement from her spokesperson.
On the work front, the actress, who got injured during the shooting of her ambitious project "Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi", will resume shooting from Saturday.
Apart from taking the day off on Christmas, she will shoot till December 31.
Having started his career in Bollywood in 2001 with the film "Pyaar Ishq Aur Mohabbat", Arjun has acted in many films, but this is the first time he is playing a real life character based on gangster Arun Gawli.
Asked about his experience, Arjun told IANS here: "I think as an actor I always tried to approach any character in a more realistic manner. Whether it is 'Rock On!', 'Rajneeti' or 'Kahaani 2'... As an actor, I always tried to play them as realistically as possible, but you know at times it depends on the writing and the story as a whole."
"With this film, I have got everything. So, I would say 'Daddy' makes me creatively satisfied."
He added: "The whole process of the film -- narrating the story of Arun Gawli -- challenged and tested me a lot. So the film is really close to my heart."
What was the core reason for Arjun to work on a film about Gawli?
"At the first place, Gawli is well known in Maharashtra and especially Dagdi Chawl, but not in the rest of the country. Secondly, the story is quite intriguing for me, because he is one of those gangsters who spent maximum time in prison and did not run away from the system or underground himself, that most of the gangsters do."
Arjun said, "The story is that every time when he came out of the prison for reformation and a normal life, did the society accept him? Or he took another criminal action in an extreme situation? Does the action justify because of the situation, or his past never allowed him to get back to the normal life even after his punishment in jail?"
"The story is complex and mysterious, so is Gawli, as a personality. I, as a creative person, was highly intrigued by all these... People should know this story," Arjun said.
Director Ashim Ahluwalia went to the real location of Dagdi Chawl for the filming.
Arjun says it was tedious process to shoot.
"There was not a single day when people didn't come on the set. Thousands of people gathered every day, some were banging on my vanity van, some were screaming out of excitement and imagine how we managed to shoot in sync sound on that chaotic location."
"Controlling the crowd was a task. Thankfully we got the location... Now slowly builders are taking over the chawl, demolishing for redevelopment."
Considering how Ahluwalia has treated the story in an unadulterated manner, according to Arjun, the film has a potential "to reach out to the audience beyond Indian diaspora".
The film is slated to release on July 21.
Dhulia says it was fascinating for him to explore how India's freedom from the British rule did not come only by dialogue and negotiation, but also through blood and sweat.
Giving an insight into the story of "Raag Desh", Dhulia told IANS here: "Being a student of history, it was fascinating for me to know that we did not get our freedom by dialogue and negotiation that we have been reading for so long... It's not."
"We all know that the winner writes the history. In this film, I explored the contribution of the INA in our freedom movement. But no, to kill everyone's interest, 'Raag Desh' does not deal with Bose's mysterious death."
It is interesting to note how these days, filmmakers are working on the unexplored side of the history of Indian politics and freedom movement -- like Vishal Bhardwaj in "Rangoon" and Madhur Bhandarkar in "Indu Sarkar".
Was it a conscious move for Dhulia to make a film on such a subject?
"No, the film came to me," he said, adding: "When Rajya Sabha TV came to me with two subjects, I chose to make a film on the INA. I had no political agenda behind it," he said.
"Raag Desh" is essentially the story of the famous Red Fort trial of three INA officers that changed the course of India's freedom movement.
The film's trailer was being launched in Parliament.
Asked about the thought behind it, Dhulia said: "It's appropriate. After the INA trial, we got our freedom and our own parliamentary system. So, we thought it is very apt to release it in Parliament."
The film features Kunal Kapoor, Mohit Marwah and Amit Sadh in key roles, and would release on July 28.
Last month, Akshay was named the Best Actor for his performance in the crime thriller "Rustom", loosely based on the commander K.M. Nanavati case. However, the choice by the jury -- led by filmmaker Priyadarshan -- was criticised by a cross-section of people.
Asked about the same, Suniel, who has worked closely with both Priyadarshan and Akshay, told IANS: "This is completely wrong. Akshay has given so many hits. Why are you looking at just one film? Look at his career. He has been there for more than 100 films. He deserves the honour.
"Maybe he has been given this honour looking at his graph and growth in films over the years. There are very few actors who give respect to the uniform when they get into it. Akshay is one of them."
Akshay himself earlier said that if people don't consider him worthy of the honour, then they should take it away from him.
The actor will be in the capital on Wednesday to receive the honour.
Suniel, who has worked with Akshay in films like "Aan: Men At Work", "Dhadkan", "Hera Pheri" and "Sapoot", added: "When in the beginning his 13 films didn't work, many said that Akshay is finished and his career is over. But, now he is giving Rs 100 crore films every time.
"Akshay needs to forget this and doesn't need to feel bad about it. If not for ‘Rustom', then think that he has got the award for ‘Airlift'."
Suniel is currently gearing up for his TV show "India's Asli Champion... Hai Dum", which will be aired on &TV starting from Saturday.
The show will feature common people who will test their mental and physical fitness by performing various tasks.
President Pranab Mukherjee honoured the actress yesterday at the 62nd National Film Awards ceremony here.
This is her second award with the first one being in the Best Supporting Actress category for "Fashion".
"That was supporting actress and this is Best Actress. 'Queen' has also got another award. So, we will have a big celebration party in Mumbai," she told reporters.
Dressed in a body-hugging gown in pastel shade with a long flowing cape, the actress looked chic as she completed her look with a bun and a dark lip colour.
The film which narrates a story of an inspirational girl-next-door who embarks on her honeymoon alone after her prospective husband backs off, also won the honour in Best Hindi film category.
Kangana portrays role of a simple girl named Rani. She was appreciated for the role from all quarters.
"I never expected 'Queen' to get recognition at this level (winning a National Film Award). We are very happy that the film was accepted on such a wide scale," she said.
Actress Tripta Lakhanpal, who played role of Kangana's grandmother in the film, was also present to cheer for the actress at the award ceremony.
Produced by Phantom Films and Viacom 18 Motion Pictures, the film which was directed by Vikas Bahl also starred Rajkummar Rao and Lisa Haydon.
Kangana is now busy with her upcoming films "Tanu Weds Manu Returns" and "Katti Batti". She has also bagged a biopic on late Indian screen icon Meena Kumari.
Budding filmmaker Gurujee Swetachandan spoke for many Odias when he, in a Facebook post the day after, said; "Hello Arsi" - a film got made and won award, but I had no 'prior' idea about its existence. Even I heard title of such an Odia film today. Why? Why I have no knowledge about its making, the crew involved, its content?
It's because Odia Cinema Journalism is dead in Odisha now. Copy-pasting press-releases, asking same questions over and over in all interviews, and buttering 'stars', mean journalism for the so-called film journalists.”
This is as scathing an indictment of film journalism in Odisha as one can think of. The bitter truth, however, is that Gurujee is not far off the mark. Film journalism in Odisha indeed consists of a few juicy titbits from the ‘shooting set’, interviews with the ‘stars’ (and occasionally with an Odia who, unknown to the film scribe fraternity here, has made it big in Bollywood or in what is called ‘parallel cinema’ like ‘Hello Arsi’) and plenty of gibberish that passes off as film journalism.
An aside here. This columnist happened to know about "Hello Arsi" while it was in the making, but only because the maker, Sambit Mohanty, was a dear friend who died before he could give it the finishing touches. Knowing Sambit, he wasn't the kind of person who would go to town about his film. But was it not the duty of the film journalist fraternity to know and inform others about it? Why did they miss out on such a film while it was in the making? In the small world of Odia cinema where barely a dozen odd films get made in a year, was it so difficult to know about it, more so since the maker worked for Information and Public Relations (I &PR) department of the Government of Odisha? The plain truth is none of them bothered. I wonder how many of them have heard of, forget watched, "Some stories around witches", Lipika Singh Darai's wonderful documentary on the practice of witch hunting that has earned rave reviews in the national Press?
The primary reason for this sorry state of affairs is that most, though not all, film journalists are film illiterates. For them, learning the art and craft, the nuances and intricacies of film making is not an essential attribute to pursue their chosen profession. All that they think they need to ply their trade is to know some people in the small Odia film fraternity, especially the stars.
Their exposure to the best of world cinema, even Indian cinema, is extremely limited or, worse still, virtually non existent. And they show little interest in enriching themselves cinematically. It is true that their employers are unwilling to earmark resources to send their film journalists to well known festivals in the country, not to speak of marquee world events like the Cannes. But even when the occasional film festival is organised in the state, they seldom show the inclination or the patience to sit through the screening of subtitled films in other languages and are just happy to get an interview or a quote or two from some top guns they have only heard or read about.
But in this age of YouTube and Netflix, does one really need a film festival to learn about the latest trends in film making? One can just sit in front of the telly and watch what one wants at the mere press of a few buttons.
The absence of a film culture has not helped. There are few film societies in the state. Even the ones that exist mostly screen old classics, mostly Odia, rather than the best of world or Indian cinema. Neither the film journalists nor their employers evince any interest in learning through film appreciation courses of the kind that used to be offered by the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune. May be it's time for the Biju Patnaik Institute of Film and Television at Cuttack to start thinking about offering a short term film appreciation course on the lines of the FTII appreciation course during the summer vacations where film journalists would be exposed to something better than the run of the mill stuff they keep watching the year round.
Most practitioners think film journalism is a walk in the park. It is time they realised it is serious business that needs a love for films, an interest in the art and craft involved in the medium and a willingness to keep abreast of the latest trends in film making. Merely watching the cheap "Ole Ole" stuff is just not good enough.
(DISCLAIMER: This is an opinion piece. The views expressed are author’s own and have nothing to do with OTV's charter or views. OTV does not assume any responsibility or liability for the same.)
On Saturday, several social media users including National award-winning film editor and writer Apurva Asrani questioned Akshay on being a National Award-winner.
Asrani tweeted: "Are Canadian citizens eligible for India's National Awards? The year (2016) Akshay Kumar won 'Best Actor', we were expecting Manoj Bajpayee to win for 'Aligarh'. If the jury/ministry has made an error in Kumar's case, will there be a revote."
However following the rulebook of the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation that presents the National Film Awards, under the section of eligibility of a candidate it reads: "Film professionals and technicians of foreign origin can also be considered for awards."
Filmmaker Rahul Dholakia, who has also been part of the jury of the National Film Awards earlier, took to Twitter to clarify the matter.
Sharing a screenshot of the rulebook, he wrote: "Clarification on National Award -- foreign nationals can get National Awards. it's legal, legit and by the books have been on the jury (not for this one) and so found out from an official Manoj Srivastava who sent me this."
Akshay was honoured with the "Best Actor Award" for "Rustom" in 2016.
Earlier this week, the "Khiladi" star faced flak on social media after he interviewed Prime Minister Narendra Modi. He was also criticised for talking about patriotism despite not being an Indian citizen.
On Friday, expressing his disappointment over the criticism, Akshay released a statement about his Canadian citizenship and said that he did not understand the negativity and "unwarranted interest" around the subject.
T-Series' head honcho Bhushan Kumar on Monday morning tweeted this project has been in the works for a while.
"Finally after a long wait, excited to officially announce the haunting comedy 'Bhool Bhulaiyaa 2' with a stellar team! This project has been in the works for a while and I'm really looking forward to it. In cinemas on July 31, 2020. More details soon."
Kartik took to his social media accounts, where he shared his look from the upcoming haunting comedy.
In the poster, the actor is donning similar "baba" outfit which Akshay had donned in the first poster of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa", which released in 2007. The second instalment will be helmed by Anees Bazmee, unlike the first one which was directed by Priyadarshan.
Kartik captioned the image: "Ghostbuster is all set to enter. Hare Ram Hare Ram
Hare Krishna Hare Ram."
The first installment of "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" was an official remake of the 1993 Malayalam film "Manichitrathazhu".
View this post on Instagram
The film also featured Shiney Ahuja, Vidya Balan, Ameesha Patel, Paresh Rawal, Manoj Joshi, Asrani, Rajpal Yadav and Vikram Gokhale. Vidya's performance in "Bhool Bhulaiyaa" is still considered iconic and regarded as one of her best to date.
(With IANS inputs)
The artist shared how Akshay's movies on social issues 'Toilet: Ek Prem Katha' and 'Pad Man', have inspired many.
"Many happy returns of the day Akshay Kumar ji. May you be blessed with a long life. Your creative social messages inspires all of us," tweeted Sudarsan wishing the National Award-winning actor.
Seeing the sculpture, Akshay Kumar thanked Sudarsan through a tweet. "This is lovely! Thank You," said Akshay.
This is lovely! thank you https://t.co/a2H2pZbKaQ
— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) September 9, 2019
On his birthday, Akshay announced that he will be playing Prithviraj Chauhan on screen. "Elated to share about my 1st historical film on my birthday! Humbled to have the opportunity to play a hero I look up to for his valour and values- Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan in one of my biggest films #Prithviraj," he tweeted.
Elated to share about my 1st historical film on my birthday!Humbled to have the opportunity to play a hero I look up to for his valor & values- Samrat Prithviraj Chauhan in one of my biggest films #Prithviraj.
Producer @yrf,director #DrChandraprakashDwivedi, releasing Diwali 2020 pic.twitter.com/Q2nD5KE3KR— Akshay Kumar (@akshaykumar) September 9, 2019
The actor also has 'Housefull 4', 'Good News', 'Sooryavanshi' and 'Laxmmi Bomb' in his kitty.
They were Tapas Kumar Mohanty of Bhima Bhoi School for the Blind from the capital city of Bhubaneswar and Basant Kumar Sahu of Government Upper Primary School at Surasara in Boudh.
Mohanty was elated after receiving the award. “The award from honourable President is great recognition for my hard work and passion towards education. I dedicate the award to my colleagues and students,” he stated.
As an experienced teacher in a school for the visually impaired, Mohanty has devoted himself in developing practicable and adaptable methodologies for the teaching of children with visual impairment. He has brought out many publications dealing with teaching practises for the visually challenged.
Mohanty has also produced many audiobooks for the children to keep up with learning needs at higher education levels. He has earned respect as an important state resource person for developing teaching and learning materials for the teaching of the children with special needs in general schools. He has also oriented teachers on the use of these practices as a trainer.
On the other hand, Sahu has tried to make teaching and learning enjoyable and interesting for young students in his school with the effective innovation of using shadow puppets and string puppets in classroom transactions.
He has revived an existing local skill of puppet making as a craft amongst his schoolchildren and begun to use them for enhancing learning activities in a joyful and exciting way. His success in the innovation has given way to the development of a handbook on the making of and use of puppets in teaching by primary and upper primary school teachers.
Sahu was ecstatic after getting the honour. “I was working with full dedication. But to be honest I had never expected to bag this award. I and my family members are over the blue moon,” stated a visibly elated Sahu.
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