National Film Awards: Best Cinematographer Nikhil S Praveen:I dedicate the award to Kuttanad’s beauty

Debutante

cinematographer Nikhil S Praveen

is one cloud nine. The Kottayam native is still unable to accept the fact that he has grabbed a National award for his aiden work for Director Jayaraj's

Bhayanakam

. Nikhil tells us, "This is an unexpected reward and I dedicate it to Kuttanad. I am happy that I won a National Award for my debut movie. We shot 18 days there and were able to capture the beauty of the rice bowl of Kerala. Each day had a different tone and mood and that made the visuals more magnificent. Director Jayaraj sir was very specific that we shoot early in the morning and sunrise has a great role to play in the visuals."

Also Read: 65th National Film Awards winners' list: Sridevi honoured with the Best Actress award, AR Rahman dominates

Bhayanakam, set in the village of Kuttanadu, depicts the mental conflicts faced by a postman during the Second World War 1939. The characters of the movies are adapted from Thakazhi Shivashankara Pillai's epic novel, Kayar.

Jayaraj won best director award for Bhayanakam at

National Film Awards 2018

.