First time director Chaitanya Tamhane is hopeful that his independent movie Court's best feature film win at the 62nd National Award will give the movie a much needed boost ahead of its release next month.
The multilingual drama, which focuses on the flaws in the Indian judicial system, won the top award at the national awards, announced today.
The movie has been winning critical acclaim globally and is set to hit theatres on April 17.
"Our very first thought is that the timing couldn't have been better. Of course it is a great honour and we all are pleasantly surprised because we did not even know that the awards will be announced today.
"Considering the fact that the film is releasing in April, there couldn't have been a bigger boost. No amount of money could have bought this prestige and publicity that we are going to get. I am happy as this is an independent film with no stars or studio backing. Now, more people will be aware of the film and more people will be, hopefully, curious enough to watch the film," Chaitanya told PTI.
The 28-year-old director is happy that the hardwork of more than three years has paid off.
"It feels like a dream right now. It feels the film had a dream run because the film premiered only six months ago and to win 17 international awards and the 18th being the National award...
"I am also very happy for my entire cast and crew because we have been working on this film for about three and a half years now. Our efforts have been acknowledged in a big way. It feels surreal," he said.
The filmmaker believes the realistic depiction of the story has connected with the critics across the world.
