Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri on National Film Award for best dialogue writer: At least now nobody will question my capabilities
Filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri notes how this win would now bring more credibility and respect for him as many had earlier criticized the film and called it too verbose.
Winning the National Film Award for Dialogue writing for his film The Tashkent Files (2019) is a victorious moment for filmmaker Vivek Ranjan Agnihotri for many reasons.
“It feels great. A National Film Award is something else altogether. I would be lying if I say I am not elated,” shares Agnihotri.
He also notes how this would now bring more credibility and respect for him as many had criticized the film and called it too verbose.
“At least nobody can now challenge me about my script writing and dialogue writing. The Tashkent Files was stuck for a long time because everybody said that this film will not work because it has no screenplay, no climax, no proper ending and it has too many dialogues. People were criticizing the screenplay and dialogues so much but now look it got an award for that very aspect. That is a big relief for me that now people will not question me about my capabilities or my work,” shares the 47-year-old.
It is a double treat for Agnihotri as his wife, Pallavi Joshi also won the best supporting actress for the thriller about the death of former Indian Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shastri.
“We both do very little work. Pallavi did this film after a gap of 6 years. She is very choosy and she is not interested in doing just about anything. Even I make films araam se. This film took about four years to make. We put in so many years, so much money has gone, so much emotions and passion has gone into it. And after that when you get awards like this gives you courage and patience to make another film like this,” the director says.
On how he celebrated the win, Agnihotri reveals that he went straight back into work. “After the announcement people celebrated in office but I immediately went inside the edit room and I kept editing my next film, The Kashmir Files non-stop. I realised that the film has to be far better than The Tashkent Files. That responsibility is also on me now,” he concludes.