The award will be handed over to Irfan Kamal on March 8, 2008 at Ravindra Kalakshetra at 6 pm, and Thanks Maa, with English subtitles, will be screened at 6:30 pm. Entry is free
The award will be handed over to Irfan Kamal on March 8, 2008 at Ravindra Kalakshetra at 6 pm, and Thanks Maa, with English subtitles, will be screened at 6:30 pm. Entry is free
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Thanks Maa competed with 20 other films such as A Wednesday, Jannat, Jaane Tu Jaane Na, Duvidha, Gabircha Paus, Harishchandra Factory, Haaru Kakkinri, Banada Neralu, and four Malayalam films. P Lankesh, a leading writer, a popular journalist and a creative filmmaker, was known as the angry young man of Kannada literature in his youth. He went on to win the Central Sahitya Akademi Award, established the largest selling Kannada weekly magazine and won both national and state awards for his films.
To this day, Lankesh is remembered not only for his award winning literature but also for being the conscience of the people of Karnataka. He passed away in 2000 at the age of 65.u00a0
In his memory, his daughter Kavitha has constituted this award, which is given out on March 8, his birthday.
Lankesh had won the national award for his very first film Pallavi. Kavitha too won the national award for her debut film Deveeri, based on Lankesh's novel.u00a0u00a0
She tells MiD DAY about the challenges in tracking down "painfully reticent debut directors" for this award.
"I've spent so many sleepless nights trying to track down low-profile directors who do amazing work. But I think our efforts are paying off. From 16 entries last year, we have 21 entries this year. Suchitra Film Society has graciously agreed to share some of the costs this year. One young director flew down from Mumbai, at his own cost, with the DVD of his yet-to-be-released film, showed it to us and flew back. He feared piracy and would trust no one with his print. But he wanted the jury to see his film," she says. She considers debut directors special because they put their best into their first film. "That they are labeled 'art filmmaker' or 'masala filmmaker' after their first film and must spend most of their lives fighting the label is another matter," she says with a chuckle.
"Contrary to popular belief, there is no Trust that helps me raise money for the award. We give out a silver medal and Rs 10,000 as prize money and we raise the money ourselves. I'm wary of corporate sponsorship because I fear interference in the selection process. Our jury is independent. There is no string-pulling of any sort," she adds.
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