‘I was confident of my film getting national awards’

Filmmaker B.S. Lingadevaru is not new to national awards. His films Mouni and Kaada Beladingalu have bagged awards earlier.

Excerpts from a conversation with the director of Naanu Avanalla, Avalu which has won two national awards.

Q. Did you expect the awards?

A. Yes, of course. ‘Sanchari’ Vijay got the award for his performance, and the make-up artists for their work. Make-up helped to a great extent in presenting the growth of the character from an adolescent to a matured person. It was the make-up that moulded the character.

For the first time, a Kannada film has got the national award for make-up.

Did you have any inkling of bagging national awards during the making?

I was confident of getting awards, as I was sure that the film would appeal to the national audience because of its content. According to my knowledge, it is the first most authentic film on transgender persons.

Are you happy for Vijay?

Definitely. In fact, Dattanna (H.G. Dattatreya) got the (best supporting actor) award for Mouni directed by me. I am happy that an artiste who has worked in my film has succeeded in getting the best actor award which had eluded the Kannada film industry for the past 27 years. Vijay faced competition from bigwigs including Aamir Khan and Shahid Kapoor.

Will awards help in your future projects?

I am a filmmaker. Filmmaking is my passion. I will continue to do films regardless of awards. However, these awards are definitely an encouragement and will open up market possibilities.