NEW DELHI: Beating Bollywood big budget multi-starer films and scores of regional films hands down, an off-beat Tamil film 'Kanchivaram' has won Swarna Kamal for best feature film at the 55th National Film Awards 2007.
Directed by Priyadarshan and produced by Percept Picture Company, it also bagged the best actor award that went to Prakash Raj, actor haling from Karnataka. Apparently, the jury did not have much difference in granting Kanchivaram the best film award as it presented a well-researched and rare portrayal of 'Kanjeevaram’s silk weaver community.
Set in the backdrop of Kanjeevaram’s handloom silk industry from the 1920s to 1948, Kanchivaram is the story of a non-political weaver who leans towards Communism and soon becomes a revolutionary leader and an advocate of the ideology, only to find himself caught between personal needs and pursuit of social equality. The jury headed by Sai Paranjpye, however, was disappointed with the lack of depth in Telugu, Malayalam and Bangla films.
“These states disappointed us. What we saw was not a very satisfying output. Many films were so wordy that they talked and talked alone as if camera does have a job to do. Many directors did not allow the camera to speak,” said Paranjpye in agreement with chairperson of non-feature film jury Ashoke Viswanathan.
Malayalam film director Adoor Gopalakrishnan got the Swarna Kamal for best direction for Naalu Pennungal, a Malayalam film, for his delicate and subtle handling of gender issues in a conventional society. He brought out the trivialisation of four women of different marital status through abject neglect by their immediate partners and family. The film also bagged awards for best editing by B Ajith Kumar.
Kannada actress Umashree got the Rajat Kamal for best actress for her heart rending portrayal of the sorry plight of a wronged woman belonging to a minority community by a hostile society in the film Gulabi Talkies.
The award for best animation film was also bagged by a Tamil film – 'Inimey Naanathaan'. Directed and animated by S Venky Baboo the film gives a new direction to animation and creates endearing characters who with their quixotic antics battle the evil force of greed in a refreshingly new manner.
Aamir Khan’s directorial debut 'Taare Zameen Par' got the award for best family welfare film, while lyricist Prasoon Joshi got the award for best lyrics for the song ‘Maa’ from the same film. Shankar Mahadevan also won the National Award for best playback singer for the same song.
Rajat Kamal for the best child artist was bagged by Sharad Goekar for covering the range from tenderness to angry defiance with ease in Marathi film Tingya based on a boy’s story whose love for his Ox is the driving force of his life. Swarna Kamal for best children’s film went to Foto, a Hindi film, directed by Vinod Saini and produced by Children’s Film Society for unfolding a magic world of images and sound to a talented young child by highlighting the milestones of cinema history. Shankar Raman also bagged best cinematography award for the same film.
Directed by Girish Kasaravalli, Gulabi Talkies adjudged the best feature film in Kannada for tracing the impact of new media on a fishing community in the coastal Karnataka, against the backdrop of globalised business practices and growing communal tensions between Hindus and Muslims.
Ore Kadal bagged the award for best feature film in Malayalam. Directed by Shyamaprasad it brings out the emotional conflict of a middle class housewife irresistibly drawn to a radical intellectual. Periyar got the award for best Tamil film award. Directed by Gnana Rajasekaran it takes on issues like superstition, untouchability and widow remarriage by depicting the life of the great social reformer E V Ramaswamy Naicker.
Directed by Rituparno Ghosh, The Last Lear got the best English film award, a visually stunning work of cinema on the life of a reclusive Shakespearian actor, well past his prime.