70th National Film Awards: Malayalam Movie Aattam Bags 3 Wins Including Top Prize- Best Feature Film

70th National Film Awards: Aattam, the Malayalam language suspense chamber drama film written and directed by Anand Ekarshi, was named in three categories including Best Film, Best Editing and Best Screenplay. At the 70th National Film Awards 2024 on Friday, Rishabh Shetty was named the Best Actor for his performance in the Kannada film Kantara, while Nithya Menen and Manasi Parekh shared the Best Actress honour for their performances in Thiruchitrambalam and Kutch Express respectively. Filmmaker Sooraj Barjatya was feted with the Best Director for the film Uunchai starring Amitabh Bachchan.

Director Anand Ekarshi reacts to National Awards win for Attam 

Anand Ekarshi who directed the Malayalam film Aattam, termed the achievements as a "huge fortune" that was "beyond what we thought or desired". Ekarshi gave the credit for the film's success to actor Vinay Fort, "who pushed me to do the film", and producer Ajit Joy, "who showed courage and faith to support us". On the other hand, Fort, who spoke to a TV channel over the phone, said the entire credit should go to the director and the producer.

 Fort said that he was very happy with the awards as theatre artists, who were the main actors in the film, were very rarely acknowledged. "I hope there are many more such big awards from small-time actors in Kerala," he added. Speaking to TV channels, the director said the film received the censor board certification in December 2022, but he and Joy decided to hold the film back for one year and send it to various festivals instead.

Director Anand Ekarshi recalls Attam getting a lukewarm response in the theatre 

Ekarshi said the response towards the film in theatres was not as big as was desired, but what happened after its OTT release was surprising. "When it was released on OTT many people watched it across the country and it received a great response," he said.

Regarding the subject of the film sexual harassment accusation by the sole actress in a theatre group against a movie star who joined them Ekarshi said it was "universal". "It is something women everywhere or a female friend of theirs has suffered. The topic is always relevant," he said.

(With inputs from PTI)