Filmmaker Om Raut was busy working on his next project when he got a call congratulating him on winning a National Film Award for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior, and he has not stopped smiling since then. “It’s my first award, but I am not the first one in my family to get it. My grandfather (late J S Bandekar) and mother (Neena Raut) are National Award winners,” he tells us, adding, “The first one is always special.”

The 2020 film has bagged three awards — Best Actor, Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment and Best Costume Design.

Raut says getting the national honour not only validates the entire team’s efforts in making the ambitious project on the life of Maratha warrior Tanaji Malusare, but also infuses energy to outdo the expectations: “It was a big film. We got good box-office success, but when we started with it, it was madness. Ajay Devgn (actor-co-producer) has been so supportive in every aspect of the film. When I narrated the film to him, he said he would not only act in it but also back it.”

This year, the National Film Awards were dominated by the myriad hues of regional cinema. “They are called National Awards for a reason,” Raut stresses, adding, “I don’t think cinema can be divided by any boundaries or language. You can’t break it down in any way or language. My first film was in Marathi, my second was in Hindi, and my third is in Hindi and Telugu. Tomorrow, I might make a film in some other language. What is important is the story you want to tell. Language doesn’t matter.”