Makhija elated with positive reaction to Ajji

Filmmaker Devashish Makhija is happy about his film Ajji travelling to different films festivals. "A niche genre film like Ajji gets most of its traction and strength from film festival programmers, organisers, critics and audiences without whom such a film might never have been made even," he says. 

Backed by Yoodlee Films, Ajji is a dark take on the classic fairytale, Red Riding Hood. It tells the story of a nine-year-old girl, who is denied justice from society and later her 65-year-old grandmother takes brutal revenge.

The film features actors like Manuj Sharma, Sudhir Pandey and Smita Tambe. A special jury mention was made for Sushama Deshpande's performance in Ajji. The film also won the actor The Flame Award at the UK Asian Film Festival, and won the Fresh Blood competition at the Beaune International Thriller Film Festival 2018.

"The awards we have won tell us that we can keep making these films. To be able to keep doing this itself then is the biggest award," Makhija adds.