Pune-based noted filmmaker Umesh Kulkarni added another feather to his cap with his critically-acclaimed Marathi film, Vihir, winning the best film award at the tenth edition of the Mahindra Indo-American Arts Council (MIAAC) Film Festival in New York on November 15. Mohan Agashe, one of the film’s actors, received the award on behalf of Vihir’s team from commended British-Indian writer Salman Rushdie.

The film was nominated at MIAAC for best director and best screenplay. In the last one year, Vihir has made its cinematic presence felt at prestigious international film festivals like Busan in South Korea, Berlin and Rotterdam, and Karlovy Vary, Czechoslovakia, to name some, besides winning several other awards at many film festivals in India.

“This latest achievement will prove to be a definite morale booster not only for me but for all those film-makers who believe in making different kind of cinema that has its dedicated audience and can fetch a good amount of recognition as well,” said Kulkarni.

He further went on to say that a new breed of filmmakers, especially in regional cinema, with their different outlook and cinematic ideas are carving a niche for themselves and gaining acceptance. “This can be seen especially in Marathi cinema. A new kind of cinema is defined by film-makers who have successfully managed to balance the art between what they want to show and what the audience wants to see,” said Kulkarni.

Vihir is a story of two adolescent boys Sameer and Nachiket (cousins who are best friends) standing on the crossroads of life. The film also stars Aalok Rajwade, Girish Kulkarni (who also co-scripted the film) Jyoti Subhash Madan Deodhar, and Sulabha Deshpande.

“It is a great achievement and we all are extremely proud of Umesh. He was also a student of FTII, and his films becoming recognized by the masses globally is certainly a morale booster for us. I wish him all the luck for making many more poignant movies in the future,” said Vikram Afroz, a cinematography student of FTII.

- Siddhartha Laik