Nirzar Film Society, in collaboration with the district administration, Nagpur, and the Federation of Film Societies of India, organised the 2nd International Film Festival from February 4 to 10 in Nagpur. This time, the focus was on Tamil cinema.
The movies showcased at the festival were AGS Cinema's “Mynaa” directed by Prabhu Solomon, S Pictures' “Kaadhal” directed by Balaji Sakthivel, T. Siva's “Saroja” directed by Venkat Prabhu, Shibu Isaac's “Thenmerku Paruvakatru” directed by Seenu Ramasamy, Vasan Visual Ventures' “Naan Kadavul” directed by Bala, Martin Productions' “Ilaignan” directed by Suresh Krissna and G. Srinivasan's “Kannathil Muthamittal” directed by Mani Ratnam.
Krsna Cinema's “Mudhal Mudhal Mudhal Varai”, directed by Krishna Seshadri Gomatam, was screened in the World Movies category since the movie had won several international awards at festivals around the world.
The guests of honour representing each film included Krishna Seshadri Gomatam, Anuja Iyer, Sampath, Bharath, Shibu Isaac, Suresh Krissna, Pa.Vijay and Kushboo.
Sameer Nafde, director of IFF Nagpur, said: “The Nirzar and IFFN committee decided to extend a gesture of appreciation to each of the guests who took time off to be present at the event. We were disappointed that Mani Ratnam and Arya could not grace the occasion due to prior work commitments and director Prabhu Solomon as he had missed the flight. Since our aim was to showcase regional cinema, especially Tamil films, we felt it imperative to honour Mani Ratnam whose fresh ideology changed Tamil cinema, taking it to global heights.” Therefore, Krishna Seshadri Gomatam was asked to receive it on his behalf, having worked under him.
The festival did not have any competition section in the feature films category. Hence, citations were awarded as a token of ‘appreciation for participation' to the following:
Best female lead: Anuja Iyer, who made her debut in “M3V”.
Best male lead: Bharath for his performance in “Kaadhal”.
Character and charisma (male): Sampath in “Saroja” and “Goa”.
Character and charisma (female): Kushboo in “Ilaignan”.
Visionary Producer: Shibu Isaac for “Thenmerkku Paruva Kaatru”
Krishna Seshadri Gomatam: for “M3V”
Suresh Krissna for “Ilaignan”, his 50{+t}{+h} film.
Pa. Vijay for his thought-provoking lyrics in the song “Thozha”.
M. Karunanidhi for scripting “Ilaignan”, his 75th film.
