THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The timing could not have been better. A day after a 64-year-old tribal woman traversed the seemingly unassailable route from Rairangpur in Odisha to Raisina Hill in New Delhi and became the President-elect, Nanchamma, a folk singer from a humble tribal hamlet in Attappadi, won the 68th National Film Award for Best Female Playback Singer on Friday.
The 62-year-old — who had the entire state singing along to her raw yet soulful rendition of Kalakkatha from 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum' directed by the late Sachy — now shares the list with elites like Lata Mangeshkar, KS Chitra and S Janaki.
Filmmaker Adoor Gopalakrishnan expressed happiness over the award for Nanchamma. “Usually folk-singing does not make it to mainstream cinema. It’s a rare feat indeed,” he said.
Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan congratulated the winners. “Malayalam cinema has once again proved its mettle by bagging many prestigious awards including the best director and best female actor. Hope this will inspire them to conquer new and greater heights,” tweeted Pinarayi.
This year, Mollywood bagged 14 honours.
While 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum' bagged four — Best Director (Sachy), Supporting Actor (Biju Menon), Female Playback Singer (Nanchamma) and Stunt Choreography — 'Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam', a small-budget film by Senna Hegde that was released on OTT and took the audience by storm, was adjudged the Best Malayalam Film.
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Hegde said: “I’m very happy and feel extremely grateful for the awesome reception we have been getting from the audience and now at the national level,” he told TNIE.
On Malayalam films bagging quite a few awards, Hegde felt it was about time. The state had its share of glory in two other top categories too.
While Aparna Balamurali won the Best Actress Award for Tamil movie 'Soorarai Pottru', the best screenplay for the same film was shared by Sudha Kongara and Shalini Usha Nair, a Malayali.
Biju Menon, who portrayed a tough cop in 'Ayyappanum Koshiyum' dedicated the award to Sachy.
Aparna told TNIE that her character ‘Bommi’ in the Suriya-starrer inspired her to portray more meaningful characters and explore in greater depth the nuances of acting.
