Malayalam cinema wins big at the 67th National Film Awards

At the 67th National Awards announced earlier today, Malayalam films bagged seven awards and a special mention.

Priyadarshan's Marakkar won in the Best Malayalam Film, Best Special Effects (Siddharth Priyadarshan), and Best Costumes (Sujith Sudhakaran and V Sai) categories. Anna Ben-starrer Helen won two awards — Best Debut Director (Mathukutty Xavier) and Best Make-up Artist (Ranjith). Rahul Riji Nair's Kalla Nottam won the award for the Best Malayalam Film.

The Best Cinematography award was won by Gireesh Gangadharan for Jallikattu. Prabha Varma bagged the Best Lyrics award for Kolaambi. Notably, this is the first National Award for lyrics in Malayalam since 2000.

Speaking about the Kalla Nottam win, director Rahul Raji Nair said, "The only thing we desired was that our film get its space. This is a small film, and we had so much faith in it. So when such a film - one which was also shot in an unconventional manner - gets recognised, it not only boosts our confidence but also validates the belief that we were right in going ahead with it." 

Kalla Nottam revolves around two cinema-obsessed kids who steal a digital camera to make a film, but stumble upon a moral policing situation that reveals a few harsh truths about some grown-ups.

Helen's victory in the Best Debutant Director and Best Make-up Artist categories has come as a surprise to the team. Director Mathukutty Xavier said, "Though Helen is a small film, we saw it as a commercial film intended to entertain everyone. At the same time, we were particular about not including unnecessary elements that don't serve the story while writing it. This win should encourage a lot of aspiring filmmakers."

Starring Anna Ben, Helen, a survival drama about a girl who gets trapped in cold storage, was critically acclaimed upon release.

In addition to the aforementioned awards, a Special Mention was awarded to Biriyaani, the upcoming film that revolves around a mother and daughter living in a coastal area trying to cope with some scandalous conflicts in their lives. An elated director, Sajin Baabu, said that he's glad that the announcement came right before the film's release on March 26. "Though this film won so many awards, I hope people won't see it as a typical 'award film' or ignore it because of it. It's a film that can be seen and appreciated by everyone. I request everyone to see it when it comes out this Friday," he added.