Ace director Kaushik Ganguly dedicated the Best Bengali Film National Award “Kaberi Antardhan” (Kaberi Vanishes) to the gifted technicians of the regional film industry.

‘Kaberi Antardhan’ is a romantic thriller film set in the backdrop of the Naxal movement in the 1970s.

Ganguly, who won national awards as director on earlier occasions, however, said he is not in a mental state to celebrate because of the death of a young woman doctor who was allegedly raped and murdered inside a state-run hospital, causing widespread outrage.

The filmmaker said he is happy that another Bengali film ‘Aparajito’ (Undefeated) has won two national awards - for best make-up and best production design. The Anik Dutta-directed movie was based on the making of Satyajit Ray’s cult classic ‘Pather Panchali’ (Song of the road).

“I am accepting the National Award with all humility. I am thankful that our team has been bestowed with this honour. But we are not in a mental state to celebrate the success in view of the present situation in Bengal,” Ganguly told PTI.

He was referring to the shock and outrage in society in the wake of the alleged rape and murder of a post-graduate trainee doctor in R G Kar Medical College and Hospital last week.

Thousands of women from different walks of life gathered on the streets in different parts of West Bengal on Wednesday midnight, giving vent to the widespread anger against the murder.

Drawing parallels between the murder and an incident narrated in ‘Kaberi Antardhan’, Ganguly said, “After so many years, when Bengal is faced with turbulence in society, it gives a strange feeling of revisiting the same issue when another daughter is subjected to torture and killed.” Earlier, the director won National Awards in films like ‘Laptop’, ‘Nagar Kirtan’, ’Shobdo’ and ‘Bishorjon’.

Expressing happiness over the honour bestowed on ‘Aparajito’, Ganguly said, “On behalf of the Bengali film industry, we are proud of our technicians who produce amazing results despite having limited resources. I am happy that Aparajito got two technical awards. They play a great role in the making of a film.” When ‘Nagar Kirtan’ fetched four National awards in 2018, two of the categories were Best Make-up Artist and Best Costume, he said.

“That speaks eloquently about the contribution of technicians of Bengal who have been creating ripples nationally,” he said.

The two other categories for Nagar Kirtan in 2018 were Best Actor and Special Jury Award.

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