'Gulmohar' wins best film at 70th National Film Awards ceremony: Director says, 'This film is a family watch'; I am very happy to receive the National Award – Manoj Bajpayee

'Gulmohar' has won the best film award at the 70th National Film Awards ceremony. The film was released on the OTT platform Hotstar. Manoj Bajpayee has played the lead role in this film. The director of the film is Rahul. After this win, both spoke to Frontpage Insights. How do you feel after winning the National Award? Manoj- I feel so bad that I have been given the National Film Award, but joking aside, to be honest, I cannot express in words how good I feel. Everyone has only smiles on their faces ever since they got the news. Rahul- Very happy and Manojji said that when we made and released the film together, we never said you have to do this and you have to do that. After making the film, we released it to the public and everyone loved the film. Got a lot of love. Do you both think there should be more family drama films? Rahul- I think a good film should be made, irrespective of the genre. Be it a family drama, action, crime or romantic drama, it just has to be a good movie. So keep up the good work and keep making good movies. Then people will keep watching it. Manoj- I don't call 'Gulmohar' a family film. This is a film that everyone can watch. This is a good story. The film talks about the caste system, also inter-religious conflict. With so many things being talked about by this story, it would not be fair to limit it to just a family film. How did you get involved with film? Manoj – I didn't like one particular thing in the script, but I liked the whole script. Because this is a film where not only my character but all the characters depend on each other. If one actor is shifted even a little, the film will feel incomplete. I found his story balanced. The film also talks about all kinds of issues. Which speaks not only of our time but also of the past. This is the strength of this film. What do viewers like these days? Manoj- Just one movie. Even if you make a film on any subject. It is very important to have a good film and a good script for a film. This ensures that the film has a great ending, just like it did in 'Gulmohar'. Any good movie always ends with a good ending. A good film lasts forever. When giving awards, does it matter whether a film is OTT or theatrical release? Manoj- I don't understand what OTT or theater means. Actually a film is a film, a film can be screened even in villages. In our school they used to put a curtain in the auditorium and play movies with a projector. The film can be shown anywhere. How do you view content now? Manoj- Let me tell you that writing is the backbone. Similarly, a film is a drama, in which everything begins and ends with the writing. There are two stages of writing. One is script, screenplay and dialogue. Second I believe editing. A lot of respect should be given to both these departments.

Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).