Rajkummar Rao’s film ‘Srikanth’ bagged the Best Hindi Feature Film honour at the 72nd National Film Awards. The biopic, directed by Tushar Hiranandani, chronicles the life of visually impaired industrialist Srikanth Bolla and also features Jyotika, Alaya F and Sharad Kelkar in key roles. Jyotika recently opened up about how thrilled she was to see her Bollywood comeback project bring home such a prestigious award.
Jyotika on Srikanth’s journey to the win
For Jyotika, this win is significant because ‘Srikanth’ overcame budget limitations and several other hurdles to reach this milestone. Speaking to News18, she shared, “When a film battles every situation, from budget until release date, and still emerges a winner only because of its pure intention, craft and storytelling, it goes on to become an emotion for the team. Tushar, Nidhi Hiranandani and T-Series (producers) have made this film straight from their hearts only to tell the world the most beautiful story of a visually impaired man who challenged society and its norms to become not only an MIT student but also a successful industrialist and much more in life”.Jyotika describes Rajkummar’s performance in the film as ‘brilliant’ and praises Tushar’s ‘vision and passion’ for taking on a bold story like ‘Srikanth’. “I cannot be thankful enough and feel proud to be playing the part of Devika teacher, the woman who was the wind beneath Srikanth’s wings,” Jyotika remarks. There’s also a personal reason this win feels especially meaningful to her. “This role is also close to my heart as it was the first Hindi film I signed after a gap of 25 years in Bollywood. This is not just a National Award but an emotion for the team. This will be carved in our hearts forever,” she says.
Other winners at the 72nd National Film Awards
Meanwhile, ‘Article 370’ took home the Best Film award and also earned Yami Gautam Dhar her first-ever Best Actress honour. Kartik Aaryan, on the other hand, bagged his maiden National Award, sharing the Best Actor trophy with Malayalam superstar Mammootty. While Kartik was honoured for ‘Chandu Champion’, Mammootty won for ‘Bramayugam’. The Best Director award went to Rajkumar Periasamy for ‘Amaran’, and ‘Kalki 2898 AD’ picked up the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment award.