Priya Mani can’t seem to hide her excitement. The news of her winning the National Award for best female lead came when she was enjoying a break at her Bangalore residence.
“I can’t believe this. To get this prestigious award at such an early stage in one’s career is like a dream. I am really excited,” the actor told The Hindu over telephone.
The award, she says, goes to the entire ‘Paruthiveeran’ team. “I also dedicate it to my gurus Bharathiraja sir and Balumahendra sir,” said the actor, who currently has her hands full with films in Malayalam, Tamil and Telugu.
Understandably, it’s a double treat for Paruthiveeran’s director Ameer. “I am really happy for both of them. I’m sure Priya Mani will choose to play weighty characters after this,” he said, adding, “I had an amazing team. It would have been wonderful if Karthi and Yuvan had also got an award.”
Director Vasanthabalan, whose ‘Veyil’ was adjudged the best feature film in Tamil, sees this award as an acknowledgement for his 15 years’ struggle. “I did not make the film keeping this award in mind. It was an earnest attempt to say something from the heart. What the audience saw was my story…my poetry…my experiences…my tears and my joy,” he said.
For ‘Veyil,’ which was screened at the Cannes Film Festival and also made it to the contest at the Shanghai festival, this is yet another honour.
Vasanthabalan feels it was the liberty given by director Shankar, producer of the film, that made this possible.
“This award has brought a lot of meaning and colour to my life. I dedicate it to my team that gave its best for this film,” he said.
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