Former union sports minister Manohar Singh Gill has asked Punjab chief minister Parkash Singh Badal to reward Punjabi film director Gurvinder Singh, whose movie 'Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan' (Alms for a blind horse) recently won the Golden Peacock award for the best film at the 43rd International Film Festival of India (IFFI) in Goa.

This is the first Punjabi film to have bagged the prestigious IFFI award. The movie, released last year, is based on a novel of the same name by renowned Punjabi writer Gurdial Singh.

In a letter to the CM, Gill wrote, "I was a principal secretary in your government from 1977-1980. During that time, much was done to uplift the quality of Punjabi films. We had rewarded a young director, Hari Dutt, from Hoshiarpur for his movie 'Udeekan', starring Simi Garewal. I would request you to honour Gurvinder with a Rs. 1-crore reward as this man has got great potential and will definitely bring more laurels to Punjab."

Taking to HT, Gill said Punjabi films were not considered on a par with Bollywood movies till now and Sikhs were regarded as jokers, but the multiple-award-winning 'Anhey Ghorhey Da Daan' had given a new dimension to Punjabi cinema.

He added that Gurvinder had been compared with one of the finest directors of the country, Satyajit Ray.