Barua wins Fukuoka festival prize for 'Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara

Add as a preferred source on Google

New Delhi, Oct 7 (UNI) The Fukuoka International Film Festival in Japan has given its sole award to Indian film-maker Jahnu Barua this year for his film 'Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara' (I Did Not Kill Gandhi).

Barua won the Kodak Vision Award, presented on the basis of audience votes. The award carries a trophy, citation and the entire negative raw stock for one of the director's future films from the Kodak company, which sponsors the prize.

Produced by actor Anupam Kher, 'Maine Gandhi ko Nahin Mara' is about a retired professor (played by Kher), who thinks he was responsible for Mahatma Gandhi's assassination.

''It's a great feeling to win such a prestigious honour. I am very happy that I could make the film conceived 10 years before it was made, and the credit for it goes to Anupam Kher who came forward to produce it after negotiations with NFDC fell through," Barua said from Mumbai.

Award-winning director Buddhadeb Dasgupta's 'Kalpurush' (Memories in the Mist) was the other Indian film participating in the Fukuoka festival this year.

'Maine Gandhi ko...', a subtle analysis of the relevance of Gandhian ideals today, was a huge draw with the audience at the festival and the organisers had to schedule two extra screenings.

''The audience showed deep appreciation for Gandhian philosophy and asked me a lot of questions, questions which very insightful, something I am rarely asked in my own country,'' Barua said.

The film was cited for its ''true depiction of the modern society'' and for ''making an emphasis on the need for Gandhian values'' today.

Barua said Kher's role was appreciated by the audience and many said he would have won the Best Actor award if there were one.

'Maine Gandhi ko...' had won the Best Film and Best Actor awards at the Los Angeles Film Festival, Best Actor at the Karachi Film Festival and the International Federation of Film Critics (FIPRESCI) award for the Best Film at the International Film Festival, Mumbai.