Bengal talents bag nine Rajat Kamals at National Film Awards

KOLKATA: At least nine Rajat Kamals (Silver Lotus) were announced for Bengal’s talents in the Feature and Non-Feature film categories at the 69th National Film Awards on Thursday. This is in addition to a Silver Lotus being given to a centurion production house from Kolkata - Aurora Film Corporation Pvt. Ltd that produced ‘Kalkokkho – House of Time’. The accent on the work of Bengal’s technicians is a matter of pride for the state. In the Non-Feature film category, editor Avro Banerjee will receive Rs 50,000 for his work in ‘If Memory Serves Me Right’. This Rafeeq Ellias’ documentary on one of India’s foremost film critics - Rashid Irani – was screened at Nandan last year. It stood out because of Banerjee’s intelligent editing with minimal sound design and smart VFX. “A non-scripted documentary gives a lot of space to an editor’s subjectivity. When I looked at this docu’s footage, I felt a synergy with Irani’s passion. That was beautiful as well as awe-inspiring. Along with sound designer Tapan Bhattacharya and composer Anindya Sundar Chakraborty, I tried to bring out that synthesis through the juxtaposition of sound, image, music and visual effects,” Banerjee said.Avijit Banerjee will get Rs 50,000 for directing ‘Ethos of Darkness’ which was adjudged the Best Science and Technology Film. “My documentary is about film developers who worked on celluloid and contributed to the making of movies that we have watched and learnt from. Our film industry would not have existed without them. My documentary is a tribute to two unsung heroes of cinema - Swapan Nandi and Sital Chatterjee – who worked on countless films of Uttam Kumar,” Banerjee said.Delhi-based anthropological and enthnographic film-maker Bappa Ray will get Rs 50,000 for directing ‘Looking for Challan’ which has been selected as the Best Investigative Film. Ray first visited the Kerala’s Cholanaikkan community in 1984. “With a population of less than 200, the community had remained unknown for several centuries. Here I had met our young friend, Challan. I had often wondered hpw much he had changed since we last met. This film is a journey of our return,” Ray said.Three directors with Bengal connection have bagged the Rajat Kamal in the Feature Film category along with a cash prize of Rs 1,00,000. While Shoojit Sircar’s 'Sardar Udham' bagged the Best Hindi Film, Rajdeep Paul and Sarmistha Maiti’s ‘Kalkokkho – House of Time’ was adjudged the Best Bengali Feature Film. In the Feature Film category, Avik Mukhopadhyay and Shreya Ghoshal’s awards have come as no surprise for Bengal. Many had predicted Mukhopadhyay’s win for Best Cinematography when 'Sardar Udham' had released. Multiple National Award winner Ghoshal was chosen as the Best Female Playback Singer for her Tamil song, ‘Maayava Chaayavaa’, from ‘Iravin Nizhal’. Among the three recipients of Best Audiography award, Aneesh Basu was chosen for his work in 'Jhilli'. All these awardees will get a Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal), a certificate and cash prize of Rs 50,000. There is a Bengal connection in three certificates being given as special mention. While actors Aranya Gupta and Bitan Biswas will get them for their performance in ‘Jhilli’, Ram Kamal Mukherjee will bag one for directing ‘Ek Dua’.