The 70th National Film Awards were announced on Friday, honoring the best of Indian cinema from 2022. This year, the Kannada film industry saw immense recognition after winning seven awards across categories such as Best Actor, Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment etc. Ranga Vaibhoga (2022), a documentary on the tradition of temple dance in Karnataka, bagged the award for the Best Arts/Culture Film this year.
Director Suneel Puranik is elated to have received the honor. He tells us, “I never expected this win. It’s a great honor for me. No one has ever done a film on this tradition. It’s really sad because if there is no recognition for the art form then in the next 10 to 15 years, there will be no temple dance performers. I believe it is our duty to safeguard our culture and I’ve done my bit through this documentary. The film doesn’t fit in any category except for Arts/Culture Film and I was somehow confident enough to submit it for consideration. By God’s grace, it’s a great pleasure that I achieved this win. I dedicate this award to dance.”
Puranik, an industry veteran known for directing and acting in both TV and films, talks about how he came across the topic for this film. “I’ve been in the industry for 37 years now. I’ve worked with top directors of the Kannada film industry. I started off as an assistant director at first and then moved on to acting and then even directed around 20 daily soaps for TV. I’ve always been a nationalist and wanted to make a film on India’s culture. I always ensured to add something relating to arts and culture in all my projects. It was when I visited an event where I saw temple dance for the first time that I decided to make a film on it. I worked with Karuna Vijayendra, a dance historian and expert on the dance form, to make the documentary,” he tells us.
{{/usCountry}}Puranik, an industry veteran known for directing and acting in both TV and films, talks about how he came across the topic for this film. “I’ve been in the industry for 37 years now. I’ve worked with top directors of the Kannada film industry. I started off as an assistant director at first and then moved on to acting and then even directed around 20 daily soaps for TV. I’ve always been a nationalist and wanted to make a film on India’s culture. I always ensured to add something relating to arts and culture in all my projects. It was when I visited an event where I saw temple dance for the first time that I decided to make a film on it. I worked with Karuna Vijayendra, a dance historian and expert on the dance form, to make the documentary,” he tells us.
{{/usCountry}}This isn’t the first National Film Award for the Puranik family as Suneel’s son and the producer of Ranga Vaibhoga, Sagar Puranik also won an award for his documentary titled Dollu (2021).
Ask him what a National Film Award means for a topic like this and he says, “Temple dance in Karnataka has a 2000-year-old history. The format has changed over the years and only 75 years ago was it named Bharatnatyam. During the British rule, it was even banned as it promoted prostitution. However, the ban was fought against and the format had to be changed to keep it alive. It’s a very interesting art form and extremely unique too. Karuna has been training 20 to 25 temple dance performers, who will be taking the art form forward. Apart from performing, they’re also teaching it.”
Talking about the recognition Kannada film industry received at the National Film Awards, Puranik shares, “As a whole, the Kannada film industry seems to be flopping at the box office. But, there are a few films with real content that have truly shone. I want to congratulate filmmaker and actor Rishab Shetty for Kantara, it is also a film about the culture of Karnataka. We have a very rich heritage and this recognition is quite great. I also feel that I have more of a responsibility now, with the award, and I definitely want to do more for the arts and culture through films.” He further adds, “Kannada cinema has always been competitive nationally. About two years ago, we had won nine awards and this year we’ve won seven. The new generation of filmmakers are truly coming out with good content and technical values. Unfortunately, not all of them know how to submit to the National Film Awards. I believe there should be awareness on the same and I’m sure we’ll continue to get more laurels.”