Filmmaker Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan was presented with the 19th Gollapudi Srinivas national award for his directorial debut Lens in the city on Friday.
The award, sponsored by Gollapudi Srinivas Memorial Foundation, is given to first-time filmmakers and carries a cash prize of Rs. 1,50,000.
“It came at a time when I was at my lowest. Thank you so much, Gollapudi family,” said Mr. Jayaprakash. Speaking about his father, he said he got all encouragement to follow his heart. “He did not question my decision to quit a well-paying job to study computer science. Later on, my decision to go to the U.S., and then to quit my job and come back to India,” he said. Entertainment for the evening was provided by Tamil actor Y. Gee Mahendra and his daughter, who starred in a play on the life of actor-lawyer Charuhaasan.
Filmmaker Singeetham Srinivasa Rao, one of the jury members, said, “I am honoured to be here right from the beginning. Every year, we award one person. This is the time when I get educated by first-time directors. It is a learning experience.”
Popular Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar said, “It is a noble way for a father to carry forward the legacy of his son.”
Remembering the award his film received many years ago, actor Boman Irani, who was one of the special guests, said, “I had a speech defect, dyslexia, but while growing up the only thing my mother encouraged me to do was to watch movies. When I was a struggling actor, my small film, Let’s Talk , was given the Gollapudi award.”
Filmmaker Sudhir Mishra said, “Awards are an affirmation. They make you believe in all this. All great films are like accidents. Like a good centre forward, one has to be at the right place all the time. May be the ball will find you,” he said. Director Priyadarshan and actor Jayasudha were also present.
