Anu Menon has bagged the Best Director award at the recent London Asian Film Festival for her Naseeruddin Shah–Kalki Koechlin starrer ‘Waiting’. The film, that was screened at the closing gala of the festival, has been wowing not just the critics and cinema-lovers, but even the regular public at the several film festivals that it has been screened at internationally and this win cements the praise it’s been garnering.
Thrilled with winning a top honour, Anu says, “The applause and love we got for the film was overwhelming to say the least. And the ‘Best Director’ award was a sweet cherry on the cake. What everyone across the board appreciated was the humour and hope in the film. It was very satisfying as people noticed and discussed the smallest nuances. Everyone said Kalki and Naseer were extraordinary. As a filmmaker I got the kind of high you always crave for!”
While the unconventional Naseer-Kalki on-screen pairing again is a huge draw for film buffs, the film has also been garnering accolades for touching the chords of human emotions through a beautiful yet sensitive approach. Getting a thumbs-up from the most hardened critics internationally is no mean feat, but Waiting seems to be doing it with utter ease. And the makers who are looking to releasing it soon in India couldn’t be happier as it has hit home even with the regular cinema-lovers.
Producer Priti Gupta of Ishka Films shares, “We are thrilled with Anu receiving this award which is truly well-deserved. It is a great honour to get this kind of an acceptance and applause even before the film has released in theaters.” What makes this film so special, adds Priti, is the fact that it’s striking a chord with everyone across the board. “Waiting is a beautiful film with powerful emotions and smallest nuances that find a great connect with all kinds of an audience because it just strikes an emotional chord.”
The film that features Rajat Kapoor, Arjun Mathur, also marks the debut of noted filmmaker Mani Ratnam’s wife, actor Suhasini Maniratnam in Hindi cinema.
The film is about the special relationship between two people who befriend each other unexpectedly in a hospital, while nursing their individual spouses in coma. It is a film about grief, but more than just dealing with it, the film is also about confronting it and discovering a sliver of hope between the lines. It is a life-affirming story representative of urban India and its ethos.
Directed by Anu Menon and produced by Ishka Films and Drishyam Films, Waiting had premiered at the Dubai International Film Festival (DIFF).
