When he started making the film that had the audience come out of theatre halls and discuss how rocking Ayushmann Khurrana was as a sperm donor, Shoojit Sircar was apprehensive about two things. “Sperm donation was not the subject which was talked about in open and the dilemma was how to make a film around such a subject and present it in a way that it doesn’t look vulgar or like any C-grade film. So the challenge throughout was to come up with the product that will entertain the audience and will bring them to the cinema halls, despite being based on an unusual subject. Second thing was that the film should not be criticised by the Punjabis and Bengalis for presenting them in a certain way or for showing what was shown in the movie. But I was glad that the movie was received well,” said Shoojit, who was elated to hear that Vicky Donor bagged the national award for best popular film providing wholesome entertainment. The movie also got Annu Kapoor and Dolly Ahluwalia the best supporting actor and actress award. “When we started shooting, soon after the first shot, I told Dolly that this role is tailor-made to get her a best supporting actress award. I was right,” said the filmmaker.
Shoojit added that he never expected that a film based on a topic of sperm donation will win in the popular category. “The honour means a lot. There’s no difference between parallel and commercial cinema now. I never expected that a film based on the issue, which is considered a social taboo, will be able to win a national award. The win has opened doors of opportunities for young filmmakers who want to experiment and make films on different subjects. Before making a film I never realised that it will be a cult success. Earlier we never expected a commercial film like Vicky Donor to win the national award. I thank the jury for recognising film as a wholesome entertainer. The honour also indicates the change in the industry,” shared Shoojit and said that the win means a lot to the producers — Ronnie lahiri and John Abraham and also to the entire cast of the film. “I don’t believes in awards but I am very happy for the cast and the producers of the film,” he added.
He revealed that the scene in the film where the character played by Ayushmann comes out with the container in his hand was the one he was most skeptical about. “I thought it will be too much for the audience and they might not like things to be in so open. But since everything in my film was packaged in a smart way and the treatment of the subject was such that nothing was made to look vulgar or cheap, it was accepted,” said the director, who is now working on his political thriller Madras Café. “Even that film is based on a different subject and will make a statement,” said the director.
Best Feature Film: Paan Singh Tomar (Hindi), Producer: UTV Software Communications ltd, Director: Tigmanshu Dhulia
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Vicky Donor, Producer: Sunil lulla, John Abraham, Ronnie lahiri and Ram Mirchandani; Director: Shoojit Sircar
Best Animation Film: DelhiSafari, Producer: Anupama Patil and Kishor Patil; Director: Nikhil Advani
Best Actor: Paan Singh Tomar, Irrfaan Khan
Best Supporting Actor: Vicky Donor, Annu Kapoor
Best Supporting Actress: Vicky Donor, Dolly Ahluwalia
Best Child Artist: Dekh Indian Circus, Virendra Pratap
Best Male Playback Singer: Chittagong, Shankar Mahadevan for the song Bolo Na
Screenplay Writer (Original): Kahaani, Sujoy Ghosh
Screenplay Writer (Adapted): OMG Oh My God, Bhavesh Mandalia and Umesh Shukla
Re-Recordist Of The Final Mixed Track: Gangs of Wasseypur, Alok De, Sinoy Joseph and Shreejesh Nair
Special Jury Award: Kahaani & Gangs of Wasseypur, Nawazuddin Siddiqui
Special Mention: Parineeti Chopra