National Awards: Court adjudged best film

The Marathi cinema continues its dominance at the National Awards with five movies making a mark at the prestigious event this year.
Mumbai-based Chaitanya Tamhane's 'Court' was adjudged the best feature film overall, while 'Elizabeth Ekadashi' by Paresh Mokashi won the joint best children's film award. Bhaurao Kharade's 'Khwada' won the special jury award and 'Killa', directed by Pune's Avinash Arun, got a special mention and also the best Marathi film award.The announcement was made on Tuesday.
Ironically, national recognition still does not guarantee space for Marathi films in theatres and multiplexes, especially during prime slots. The films struggle to find a market across the state except in Pune, Mumbai and to some extent in Nagpur.
Of the four feature films, only 'Elizabeth Ekadashi' has hit the theatres while others are due for release. Tamhane said, "The National Award is most special among all the awards 'Court' has received so far. With the film set for an April release, the award could not have come at a better time."
The film is a powerful and stark depiction of the mundane nature of judicial procedures revealed brilliantly by the film's form, forcing us to reflect on the heart-wrenching insensitivity of institutional structures. The film, which is multi-lingual, with a majority of the dialogues in Marathi, took three-and-a-half years to complete. The film will receive a Swarna Kamal and Rs 2.5 lakh cash.
For Mokashi, it is the second national award after he made a mark with his first film, "Harishchandrachi Factory", in 2009. Mokashi was unavailable for comment. Madhugandha Kulkarni, his wife and also the writer of "Elizabeth Ekadashi", said, "The film is Paresh's vision and the credit, to a great extent, goes to the entire team and the people of Pandharpur where the film was shot."
About the recognition for Marathi films, Kulkarni said, "People are maturing as an audience and they are ready to accept non-commercial and non-glamourous films. " 'Elizabeth...' is a tale that reaffirms children's ability to negotiate complexities of life with relative ease. The film shared the honour with 'Kaakkaa Muttai', a Tamil film and will receive Swarna Kamal and Rs 1.5 lakh prize.
'Killa' has been going around the world and winning several awards at international film festivals for the past one-and-a-half years. It is due for a national release on June 26. The film portrays a young boy as he emerges from the shadows of dislocation and loss in an unfamiliar environment to embracing what life has to offer.
Arun, who has not only directed but has also shot the film, said, "A National Award is the highest recognition for a filmmaker. It's heartening to see how Marathi cinema makes its presence felt at the national level each year with its quality content." 'Killa' will receive a Rajat Kamal and Rs 1 lakh for best Marathi film honour and a certificate of appreciation.
Meanwhile, Ravi Jadhav has won his third National Award. This time he got it in the best short fiction film category for "Mitraa". Earlier, he had won the award for "Natrang" and "Balgandharva". Jadhav's film is an empathetic portrayal of its pivotal character's sexual orientation and the question of freedom around it. Shot in black and white, the film is an outcome of a workshop conducted by him on short films last year in Thane.
Jadhav told TOI, "All Marathi films winning the National Awards this year belong to different genres. All handled complex themes yet were well received internationally. All the filmmakers are young and serious about filmmaking and it reflects in their work." 'Mitraa' will receive Rajat Kamal and Rs 50,000 prize.
WATCH: Trailer of Court:

Bhaurao Kharade, the director of "Khwada", said that his efforts for the past one year have paid off. "We had struggled to make this film and right now we do not even have any plan for releasing it. The National Award means a lot to me. It is the first recognition and two awards have come our way, which is an icing on the cake."
Pune-based Parth Bhalerao, who acted in "Killa", received a special mention for his role in Hindi film, 'Bhootnath Returns'.
WATCH: Trailer of Killa: