National Award does not make any difference to me: Laxmikant

Konkani director Laxmikant Shetgaonkar, whose film 'Baga Beach' won this year's National Award, feels that the honour does not help much in attracting viewers to the movie.
Shetgaonkar-directed 'Baga Beach' won the Best Konkani Film award at 61st National Film Awards.
"Personally to me, the national award does not make any difference. But to a certain extent it does help in promoting the movie as people look forward to watching it. It helps in a thin way. Only marginal number of people gets attracted," the director said today.
Shetgaonkar, however, admitted that the award has helped him get recognition within the film fraternity in the country.

The film, titled after one of the most famous beaches in North Goa, tries to portray the dark belly of the life surrounding the tourist hot spots in the state.
"The title of the film is a metaphor to speak about complexity of characters and complex life of people leaving in the coastal belt," Shetgaonkar said.

The movie starring Bengali actress Pauli Dam and two international artists Jean Denis Romer (Germany) and Cedric Cirotteau (France) was part of Indian Panorama section of International Film Festival of India (IFFI) 2013.
The film will be released across Goa in all the theatres on May 30, the director said adding that he was also working on the pan-India release of the movie.

"The film is planned to be released across the state from May 30 onwards will help me get the audience for the movie as people from the cities like Margao, Panaji, Vasco, Pernem and Biclolim would be able to see it on the same day," he added.
The director had come into limelight with his movie 'Poltodcho Munis' that had won FIPRESCI award at Toronto International Film Festival in 2009.