“It feels like coming home,” said Bollywood actor, Boman Irani at the Gollapudi Srinivas awards ceremony held in Chennai, last Friday.
Irani first attended the award ceremony in 2003 when director Ram Madhvani was recognised for his film, Let’s Talk, in which the actor played a key role.
Irani took viewers to his childhood — raised by his widowed mother, he was a shy child with a lisp in his speech, Irani said.
“Since I was often laughed at I never opened my mouth [until] class eight,” he added.
Young Irani found solace in watching films at the cinema hall near his home. “My mother sent me there every evening. And when I told her that I had already watched Pyasa, she suggested that I look at the other aspects of the film,” Irani said.
From waiting at tables to managing a family store, Irani said he first found his passion in photography, followed by theatre.
Speaking about his role in the acclaimed 2003 film Munna Bhai MBBS, he said he felt like a child in a candy store.
He said he holds dear one lesson he learnt from a co-star. “After appreciating my performance he tells me, ‘You will get an award and then its barbaad [ruined]. All this innocence and enthusiasm will be gone.’ I promised him that day that I would never lose my innocence nor my zest for acting.”
Appreciating the gesture of the Gollapudi family, he said that Madhvani’s Let’s Talk had been a small film and what made it big was its first recognition, the Gollapudi Award.
The award, given to a dubutant directory every year, was set up by veteran Telugu actor, director and screenwriter Gollapudi Maruthi Rao in memory of his youngest son, Srinivas, who died while filming his debut film, Prema Pusthakam, on August 12, 1992 at Vishakapatnam.
Bollywood star Aamir Khan, Bengali director Shonali Bose, Malayalam cinema’s Shyama Prasad and Tamilian director Janaki Vishwanathan have all been recipients of the award. One awardee, Telugu director Rajneesh Domalpalli, went on to win the Golden Bear award at Berlin for his film Vanaja.
Now in its 19th year, director Jayaprakash Radhakrishnan was awarded for his film Lens at the ceremony.
“The announcement of the award came to me at a time when I was at my lowest of spirits and with bleak prospects of releasing my film,” said the former software professional who quit a career in the US to take a plunge into films.
“The award is a defining moment and a reaffirmation of my belief in myself as a film-maker.”
Radhakrishnan’s Lens was selected by a panel of jury headed by veteran Telugu director Singeetham Srinivasa Rao from among 33 films made pan India and in different languages. The award comes with a cash prize of Rs150,000 (Dh8,227).
Bollywood actress Kalki Koechlin hosted the award ceremony. Kannada actor Shiva Rajkumar was the chief guest. Others present were directors Sudhir Mishra and Priyadarshan, as well as Telugu actress Jayasudha Kapoor.
