Film-maker Suresh Sangiah’s Oru Kidayin Karunai Manu was adjudged the best film in the Tamil competition section at the 15th Chennai International Film Festival here on Thursday.
While actor Vijay Sethupathy won the ‘Youth Icon of the Year’ award, Vikram Veda , one of this year’s biggest blockbusters, directed by the Pushkar-Gayathri duo, bagged the best runner-up award.
The ‘Youth Icon of the Year’ award was instituted by Bollywood star Amitabh Bachchan a few years ago.
Director Lokesh Kanagaraj’s Maanagaram won the Special Jury Award, while veteran director Bharathiraja got the Special Jury Mention recognition for his performance in Kurangu Bommai .
After receiving the award, Vijay Sethupathy said his life changed after watching Kazhakastan film Tulpan , and it opened his eyes to international films. “The film invoked a wide variety of feelings — I felt happy, I was able to understand the culture and I was blown away by the way it was conceived and executed,” he said. According to him, cinema is not the property of one person. “Cinema reflects society. It belongs to people. Anyone can come here,” he said. He donated the ₹1 lakh cash prize to the organisers of the CIFF.
While Mr. Sangaiah said the award he won was a recognition for the lost culture, film-makers Pushkar-Gayathri said, “We both identify [ourselves] as film-makers from Chennai and we are happy that we got recognition from the Chennai International Film Festival.”
Speaking at the end, director K. Bhagyaraj reiterated the importance of international film festivals such as the CIFF.
“Cinema is a gateway to various cultures. We cannot go and see every culture and tradition. Recently, I was surprised to see international film-makers getting appreciation from the audience, which made me realise the impact that film festivals have had here,” he said.
Daisy , directed by D. Narayanamurthy, won the best student film.
