68th National Film Awards 2022: Sandhya Raju on winning the Best Choreographer Award for Natyam

Director Revanth Korukonda's romantic drama Natyam has bagged two awards at the 68th National Film Awards. While Sandhya Raju won the award for Best Choreography, TV Rambabu was awarded as the Best Make-up Artist.

Speaking to CE after the announcements, Sandhya Raju, who also produced and played the lead role in the film, said, "Winning an award like this that previously went to stalwarts like Saroj Khan, Prabhu Dheva, Bosco–Caesar and Pandit Birju Maharaj is a high point in my career. This is way beyond anything I’ve ever dreamt of, because all I ever wanted was to make a film on our very own dance form, Kuchipudi. It's a certain pride to compete with many good choreographers from Bollywood and other languages and win this award. On this occasion, I remember my dance guru, Padma Bhushan Vempati Chinna Satyam for inspiring me, nurturing my talent and dedicating my life to art. I also thank my director Revanth Korukonda, and my team of dancers for supporting me throughout the making of Natyam. As a producer of Natyam, I also take immense pleasure in winning another award in Best Makeup Artist category and I congratulate our make up artist TV Rambabu for winning this honour. I am hoping that this recognition to Kuchipudi dance form will continue to inspire the nation as well as the next generations. I also thank my family for supporting me in all these endeavours."

Natyam was screened at 52nd International Film Festival of India in Indian Panorama section in November 2021. It was released in on 22 October 2021.