KOLKATA: Three awards came to Tollywood at the 70th National Awards announced on Friday. ‘Aparajito’ won two — Somnath Kundu for best makeup and Ananda Addhya for best production design — while Kaushik Ganguly’s thriller ‘Kaberi Antardhan’ took home the Best Bengali Film Award.
Firdausul Hasan, producer of ‘Aparajito’ was happy with the recognition. ‘Aparajito’ was released on Satyajit Ray’s birth centenary and is inspired by the making of Ray’s iconic ‘Pather Panchali’. However, he believed the film deserved more accolades. “I congratulate Somnath and Ananda. But ‘Aparajito’ should have won more awards. If not best film, at least best Bengali film,” he said.
For Kundu, this moment is special. He has been the only consistent practitioner of prosthetic makeup in Tollywood since 1996. His near-perfect transformation of actor Jeetu Kamal into the likeness of Ray in ‘Aparajito’ stands out as one of his finest works. “Winning the National Award has increased my responsibility to do more good work,” said Kundu, who also skillfully transformed Bangladeshi actor Chanchal Chowdhury into the master filmmaker Mrinal Sen in ‘Padatik’. Actor Jeetu Kamal, who became an overnight sensation for his portrayal of Ray in the film, extended his congratulations to both Kundu and Addhya.
Multiple National Award-winning director Ganguly added another award to his collection with ‘Kaberi Antardhan’ winning Best Bengali Film. The film, starring Prosenjit Chatterjee, Srabanti and Ganguly, tells a story of crime and love during the Indian Emergency Period. Despite the win, Ganguly wasn’t in a celebratory mood due to the recent incident of the Kolkata doctor rape case. “Kaberi Antardhan depicts a time of social unrest and now I win during another period of disturbance. However, I’m proud of Bengal technicians like Ananda and Somnath for winning. Whenever Bengali technicians are recognised, I feel happy because they make our films special,” said Ganguly, whose 2019 film ‘Nagarkirtan’ won four National Awards.
Meanwhile, the National Awards also had more Bengal connections with Arijit Singh winning best singer for ‘Kesariya’ from ‘Brahmastra: Part One’ and Pritam winning best music director for the same film. Sanjay Chowdhury, son of the legendary Salil Chowdhury, received special mention for his music in the Malayalam film ‘Kadhikan’.