MANDI: ‘Dada Lakhmi’ emerged as the big winner at the prestigious four-day Himachal Pradesh International Film Festival in Mandi as it secured the awards for Best Feature Film and Best Director for Yashpal Sharma.
In the feature film category, the Best Actor in Negative Role award went to Rambhadur Renu for his performance in ‘Jackon Halt’. The Best Actor award in Short Film category went to Tanuj Virwaini for her role in ‘Naam Mein Kya Rakha Hai’.
The Best Actress (Female) award in Feature Film category was claimed by Karishma for her role in ‘The Rabbit House’, which also won Gagan Pradeep the award for Best Supporting Actor (Male). ‘The Rabbit House’ also received the Jury’s Special Mention.
Satyen Chaturvedi was honoured with the Best Actor (Feature Film) award for his role in ‘Darmiyaan — A Tale of Love and Longing’. The film ‘Navras Katha Collage’ received the Jury’s Special Mention for Best Director in the Feature Film category. The Best Director Regional (Feature Film) award was given to Rosy Bora for ‘The Last Honour’, while ‘Bayakegalu Beruridaaga’ was recognised with the Best Jury’s Special Mention for Regional Feature Film.
The Best (Short Film) award went to ‘Bruno’, which is directed by Mukesh Kumar Singh, who was also adjudged the Best Director (Short Film) for ‘Home Sweet Home’. The Best Actor (Short Film) awards went to Rajendra Gupta for ‘Happan Saangwala’ and Rajnishwar Chauhan for ‘Saas (Mother-in-Law)’.
In the short film category, the Best Story award went to ‘Keel (The Nail)’ and Sudeep Kapoor won Best Director (Student) for ‘Kachchi Miitti’. ‘Bhookh’ won Best Director award for Saaikat Bagbaan. Suman Guha received the Jury’s Special Mention for Best Director for ‘Gajara’. Veronica Verma earned the Jury’s Special Mention for her role in short film ‘Gajara’, and Vipin Bhardwaj was recognised as Best Actor (Male) for the same film.
The documentary category saw ‘New Year in Eashan Bharat’ winning Best Documentary and also receiving the Critics Choice award. The Best Animation Film (Short Film) was awarded to ‘Lachit the Warrior.’
Lifetime Achievement Awards were bestowed upon Krishan Kumar Nutan, Sunder Lohia, Som Dev Kashyap and Ramesh Ravi for their outstanding contributions to the film industry.
Dinesh Bhardwaj won the Best Debut Director (Short Film) award for ‘Chitta’. Abhinav Chhabra was awarded Best Editor for ‘Awakening of Rock’. The Best Cinematography (Short Film) award went to ‘I Am Not Down’. The Best Film – Jury’s Special Mention (Short Film) was given to ‘Kathakaar’.
‘Lachit the Warrior’ won the Best Animation Film (Short Film) award. ‘Bheed’ was awarded Best Short Film award.
‘Pravas’ won Best Children (Feature Film). Vishal Thakkar received the Best Child Actor (Feature Film) award for ‘Pravas’.
‘Panchawa Prantha’ received the Best Jury’s Special Mention (Short Film) and Best Screenplay awards.
The four-day Himachal International Film Festival, held for the first time in Mandi, concluded on Sunday (June 30, 2024) evening.
