Hindi cinema on a high as Ayush, Vicky share Best Actor nods; AndhaDhun, Uri and Badhaai Ho bag top honours
Mohar Basu (MID-DAY; August 10, 2019)

Its pan-India appeal notwithstanding, Hindi cinema — not too long ago — would get outshone by its regional counterparts when it came to the National Awards. In what can be seen as a sign of how Bollywood has evolved, the 66th National Awards were largely dominated by Hindi movies, with Ayushmann Khurrana and Vicky Kaushal walking away with the Best Actor gong, while Aditya Dhar (below) earned the Best Director nod for Uri: The Surgical Strike.

After bagging several gongs for his blind pianist act in Andhadhun, Khurrana is ecstatic to round off the year with the most prestigious win. "When I entered the industry seven years ago, my choice of films were considered offbeat. Today's win is gratifying and it makes me braver as an artiste as I have always tried to back disruptive content. This is a validation of my belief system."

Having been adjudged the Best Director, Dhar is over the moon. "Vicky and I were screaming with joy on Facetime," says the first-time director, whose film Uri saw Kaushal earn the Best Actor award. "National Award has always been an aspiration. But it's crazy to have won it for my debut film. It takes a great team and a great script to make a worthy film. This is a victory of my team." Kaushal expressed his joy on social media, writing, "For my work to be recognised by the honourable National Film Awards Jury is a moving moment for me (sic)."

Director Amit Sharma was congratulating Surekha Sikri for her Best Supporting Actress win when he learnt of Badhaai Ho winning the Best Popular Film. "When someone called me to give the news, my instant reaction was that they are confusing it with Surekha ji's win. A National Award win is otherworldly for any filmmaker. The fact that conventional cinema is changing was a reminder all year, but the film doing so well proved that the audience is ready for new ideas."

Writer Pooja Ladha Surti, whose Andhadhun won the Best Hindi Film and Best Adapted Screenplay, says, "Our main worry was the film's divisive end. I am glad we stuck to our guns."

It is a mixed feeling for director Aijaz Khan, whose Hamid won the Best Urdu film. "The moment I came to know that Talha Arshad Reshi has won the Best Child Actor Award, I wanted to share the news with him. But I was unable to reach him due to the network outage in Kashmir."

The actress’s next project, which was shot in the Valley, is now gearing up for a premiere there in a few months
Natasha Coutinho (MUMBAI MIRROR; June 4, 2018)

After playing Saadat Hasan Manto’s wife in Nandita Das’s biopic on the renowned Pakistani playwright, Rasika Dugal will be next seen in Hamid, which is directed by Aijaz Khan. Now, the film, which was shot entirely in Kashmir, is returning in the next few months to the Valley for its first screening. It sees the actress in the role of a mother to seven-year-old Hamid, played by Talha Arshad Reshi, a Kashmiri local whose father goes missing in the film.

“The story idea came from a line from a Kashmiri acquaintance: A seven-year-old Kashmiri boy, whose father has disappeared, dials 786 on the phone to speak with Allah. The idea fascinated me so much that I developed it into a screenplay. After several months of arduous auditioning, we found our Hamid. But two days before the shoot, the boy developed cold feet and walked out of the film. We were flabbergasted,” Aijaz told Mirror, adding that the team had to go back to audition tapes. “When we relooked at the top five contenders, Talha’s caramel eyes and angelic face caught everyone’s eye and he was asked to join immediately.”

The team shot at Budderkote, a quaint village on the foothills of Gulmarg that they discovered after travelling through Kashmir and Manali. “Manali was Plan B, just in case we faced resistance in Kashmir but Badderkote embraced us. The villagers opened their homes to us. Fragrant cups of Kahwa and the delectable local bread Girda became our staple food,” Aijaz said.

Meanwhile, Rasika reveals that she was initially skeptical about the film even though its innocence had appealed to her. “My primary fear was the fact that it is difficult to tell a story of a land and people who have been through so much. I felt like no matter how much I prepared, I would not be able to do justice to the part, which would be a disservice to Kashmir. But I’ve previously shot in Kashmir for Santosh Sivan’s Tahaan and it gave me, with all its beauty and sadness, more than I had expected. It’s like the place just opens itself up to you to let you tell its story,” the actress signed off.