A documentary on the people displaced by the coming up of Tarapur Atomic Power Station, India's first nuclear plant near Mumbai, has bagged the Yellow Oscar at the Uranium Film Festival in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
The 27-minute documentary, titled "High Power", was the maiden directorial venture of Pradeep Indulkar, an anti-nuclear activist from Ratnagiri, coastal Maharashtra.
"My documentary received unprecedented response at the festival and was screened several times, besides special screening in Rio de Janeiro colleges. The issue tackled in it is true for almost all the nuclear plants and the truths they leave behind," Indulkar told IANS from Brazil.
Chandrasen Arekar, a displaced farmer from Tarapur, Thane district, received the award to a thundering ovation, from the chief guest, Junko Watanabe, the last survivor of Hiroshima nuclear holocaust during World War II.
In his acceptance speech, Indulkar said that apart from all the sorrows and distress highlighted by the documentary, the Yellow Oscar was a golden moment in his life as a filmmaker.
"I accept this award on behalf of all nuclear project affected people of Tarapur and I dedicate it to all those farmers and fishermen who lost their land, home and livelihood for the nuclear power plant," Indulkar said at the awards ceremony Sunday night in the Brazilian capital.
Incidentally, Indulkar is among the leading personalities opposing the proposed 9,900 MW Jaitapur Nuclear Power Plant coming up with French collaboration in Ratnagiri.
Bouyed by the response to the documentary, Indulkar has submitted it for several international film festivals including India-Japan Film Fest in Japan, a film festival in Stuttgart, Germany and later at the Mumbai International Film Festival.
About the release of the documentary in India, Indulkar said the Indian censors have restricted the movie release only through DVD.
