The Gollapudi Srinivas National Award 2019 will be shared by two debutante directors for the first time in the 23 years since the inception of the honour.
The winners are Aditya Dhar for Hindi film Uri: The Surgical Strike , and Madhu C. Narayanan for Malayalam outing Kumbalangi Nights. Both the filmmakers will receive a cash prize of ₹1,50,000 as well as a memento, during the award ceremony that is scheduled to be held on August 12 in Chennai. The films and directors were selected by a jury comprising of Bharat Bala, Jayendra, Ram Madhvani and Baradwaj Rangan, among 22 nominations in various languages from across the country.
Aditya Dhar, who was a lyricist and dialogue writer earlier, turned filmmaker with Uri that starred Vicky Kaushal, Paresh Rawal and Yami Gautam in lead roles , that was based on the surgical strikes conducted in 2016 by the Indian Army, against militant launch pads in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK). The film was a resounding success across the country commercially.
Vicky Kaushal in ‘Uri: The Surgical Strike’
In a statement, the director said that he felt try blessed to receive the honour, and wanted to thank the esteemed jury and organising team: “I am genuinely humbled. It’s an honour to be sharing this award with an extraordinary talent like Madhu Narayanan. Can’t wait to be in one of my most favourite cities in India, Chennai, for the award ceremony.”
Meanwhile, Madhu C Narayanan’s Kumbalangi Nights was a whimsical drama that revolves around the lives and loves of brothers in a family , and starred an ensemble cast headlined by Fahadh Faasil, Soubin Shahir, Shane Nigam, Sreenath Bhasi and Anna Ben among others. Madhu has also assisted on other acclaimed films such as Maheshinte Prathikaram.
Fahadh Faasil, Shane Nigam and Soubin Shahir in ‘Kumbalangi Nights’
The Malayalam filmmaker said, “Thank you so much for selecting me for the Gollapudi Srinivas National Award for the best Debut Director for 2019. It is a great honour to receive this prestigious National award along with the very talented Aditya Dhar. I thank the jury and I am very excited to be a part of the award ceremony in Chennai.”
The award was established in 1998 to preserve the legacy of Gollapudi Srinivas, a young director, who tragically passed away in an accident during the shoot of his maiden venture in 1992. It is announced annually on March 17 and presented on August 12, every year. The Gollapudi Srinivas National Award promises first-time directors appreciation and recognition of their works on a pan-Indian basis.
Some of the recent winners of the award include the likes of Aamir Khan for Taare Zameen Par (2007), Anusha Rizvi for Peepli Live (2010), Konkona Sen Sharma for A Death In The Gunj (2017) and C. Prem Kumar for Tamil film 96 in 2018.
