In conversation with ANI at the 53rd edition of the Indian Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa, Asha Parekh, who started working in the acting field when she was just 10, recalled how yesteryear actors faced several challenges due to the lack of sanitation facilities in the past.

New Delhi [India], August 15 (ANI): Actor Shefali Shah has bagged the Best Actor (Female) award at the latest edition of the Indian Film Festival of Melbourne (IFFM).

New Delhi [India], July 8 (ANI): Legendary Indian cricketer Kapil Dev has been invited as the guest of honour at the Indian Film Festival Melbourne 2022 (IFFM).

Mumbai Oct 24 PTI For debutant director Vinothraj PS it is a surreal moment to have his first film Koozhangal represent India at the 94th Academy Awards next yearThe Tamil-language drama follows an alcoholic abusive husband who after his long-suffering wife runs off sets out with his young son to find her and bring her backAfter being a festival favourite and travelling to several international movie galas like Shanghai International Film Festival and Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles Koozhangal was announced as Indias official entry in the international feature film category at the Academy Awards by the Film Federation of India on SaturdayStarring newcomers Chellapandi and Karuththadaiyaan the feature titled Pebbles in English has previously won the Tiger Award at the International Film Festival Rotterdam in February 2021Vinothraj said he is overwhelmed with the love coming the films way and expressed gratitude to the jury members who selected his film from among the 14 other moviesIt is like three years of effort are paying off now We didnt expect the film to be recognised at this level so we focused on making an honest and simple film We didnt have any expectations even like being appreciated at festivals including RotterdamI am overwhelmed and so is everyone in the team We are all excited and emotional The actual journey has started now we need to make sure we create enough chances to be in the final nomination We have started discussions and are planning out things the 33-year-old director told PTI over phone from MaduraiBorn in a village near Melur town of Tamil Nadus Madurai district Vinothraj said his love affair with films began after he started visiting sets of several movies that were shot in his native placeI wanted to be in the chair of the cinematographer Thats how I developed interest in films the writer-director saidBut the tough times during childhood forced him to start working at an early age He did several odd jobs including working as a salesperson in a DVD shop in Chennai where he was introduced to world cinemaI would see world cinema films almost every day of Majid Majidi Stanley Kubrick among others and I understood what pure cinema isI worked at that shop thinking it would help me to get some contact points in the industry and then I can assist someone and start working Soon I joined director A Sagunam and worked on a couple of his films Then after some time I started writing the script of Koozhangal In 2018 Vinothraj began working on the film produced by Tamil star Nayanthara and filmmaker Vignesh ShivanThe movie stems from the directors personal experiences one of his younger sisters was chased by her husband from his village to hers for 14 km after a quarrel ensued between the couple he said People here have so much frustration in their lives because of the drought and lack of opportunities it is reflected in their families and relationships The male patriarchy existed very severely because of this frustration he addedThe film is set in a village called Arittapatti near Melur and the director started filming in the scorching heat of May 2019 he sharedVinothraj who looks up to veteran directors Balu Mahendra Satyajit Ray and Adoor Gopalakrishnan said the location and timing of the shoot for Koozhangal was as crucial as the story of the filmThe film has three characters one is father the child and the landscape All these terrains were well off with agriculture There was no problem with water Later it succumbed to drought and led to huge social imbalance in the life of these people This is what we wanted to address he saidBut shooting in real locations came with its own set of challengesThe director recalled how the cameras would often get jammed due to extreme heat and how the entire crew had to walk barefoot to get the pulse of the story rightThe movie was partially complete before the COVID-19 pandemic struck but the team needed someone to take over the entire productionIn their search for a collaborator they knocked on the doors of the NFDC Film Bazaar a platform created and organised to encourage collaboration between South Asian and international film communitiesThe NFDC had invited director Ram who won a National Award in 2013 for his movie Thanga Meengal as a guest for one of the lectures We met him and told him about the film which he loved Then Vignesh Sivan and Nayanthara saw the film and they took over the production as they believed in it Vinothraj saidAfter having a festival run of about a year the director said they were toying with the idea of releasing Koozhangal around December However the film might get an early releaseWe believe with Koozhangal releasing theatrically we should be able to create a market for other such films This Oscars is something huge The pressure is not much though we are glad to be recognised It is a good feeling he added PTI KKP RDS SHD RDS RDS