Kannada filmmaker gets Aravindan Puraskaram award

Kannada filmmaker P Sheshadri has won this year's prestigious Aravindan Puraskaram for the best debut director in the country for his film Munnadi (Preface).

The award, instituted by the Chalachithra film society in Thiruvananthapuram, in memory of renowned director G Aravindan to promote young talents, carries Rs 10,000 in cash, a citation and a plaque.

A four-member jury headed by film director KG George selected Sheshadri for the prize, Chalachithra president G Rajamohan told newsmen in Thiruvananthapuram, on Friday 23.

The jury observed that the film reacted sharply to the society's superstitions and handled the plight of women in an effective manner.

Sheshadri, a popular teleserial director, had won the Puttanna Kanagaal award in 1993 for the best associate director and the Sandesh Award for best teleserial in 1997-98. The journalist-film maker had directed a number of popular serials for various satellite channels.

It is for the second successive year that a Kannada director has won the Aravindan Puraskaram. Last year, Kavitha Lankesh was selected for the prize.

There were seven entries -- five in Malayalam, one in Hindi and one in Kannada--for this year's competition.

UNI