Exclusive | Amol Parashar on Sardar Udham's National Award 2023 win: Craft is top notch, heart is in the right place

Amol Parashar and Vicky Kaushal. Pic/Instagram

Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham scored big at the 69th National Film Awards which were declared today at a press conference by the jury at the National Media Center, New Delhi. Headlined by Vicky Kaushal, the film also starred Amol Parashar and Banita Sandhu. The biographical film based on Udham Singh won 5 awards.

Amol, who played the role of Bhagat Singh in Sardar Udham, reacted to the film's major win at the National Film Awards 2023. He shared with Mid-Day exclusively, "I am elated to hear the news of Sardar Udham receiving the National Award for Best Film. I am so happy for Shoojit Sir, Ronnie Sir, Vicky, Ritesh Sir, Banita and everyone else who made this stunning film possible. Although I was a small part of this important film, it is definitely one of my best experiences and a film I will always be proud to have in my filmography. The craft is absolutely top notch and the heart is in the right place, I believe it is a well-deserved win."

Sardar Udham won Best Hindi Film, Best Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhayay, Best Costume Designer: Veera Kapur Ee, Best Production Design: Dmitri Malich and Mansi Dhruv Mehta and Best Audiography: Re-Recording (Final Mixing): Sinoy Joseph.

Vicky Kaushal and Shoojit Sircar's biopic Sardar Udham received rave reviews from different corners of the globe for bringing the haunting memories of the Jallianwala Bagh massacre back. The film was shortlisted for India's official entry to the Academy Awards. However, the Film Federation of India (FFI) jury selected the Tamil film Koozhangal for Oscars 2022. A controversy sparked off after a jury member named Indraadip Dasgupta said Sardar Udham couldn't make it to Oscars 2022 because it projected "our hatred towards the British".

Indraadip said in an interview with Times Of India, "Sardar Udham is a little lengthy and harps on the Jallianwala Bagh incident. It is an honest effort to make a lavish film on an unsung hero of the Indian freedom struggle. But in the process, it again projects our hatred towards the British. In this era of globalization, it is not fair to hold on to this hatred."

Sardar Udham was produced by Ronnie Lahiri. It released on Amazon Prime Video on October 16, 2021.