Malayalam film "Bhayanakam" wins best cinematography award at Beijing International Film Festival
Malayalam film "Bhayanakam" (Fear) directed by Jayaraj won the best cinematography award at the Beijing International Film Festival on Saturday. The cinematography was done by Nikihil S Praveen. The film had also won the best cinematography award at the 65th National Film Awards. Both Jayaraj and lead actor, writer and journalist Renji Panicker who attended the festival received the award.
The film portrays the visits of first World War veteran to a small village in the backwaters of Kerala's Kuttanand as a postman during the World War-II. He shares with the families the good and bad news of the soldiers who took part in the war.
According to Jayaraj, about 600 soldiers from Kerala died during the World War-II. Bollywood actor Shah Rukh Khan-starrer "Zero" was screened at the end of the festival. Shah Rukh, who made his maiden visit to China on April 17, took part in the festival, especially in the "China-India Film Cooperation Dialogue" along with film director Kabir Khan.
The actor said cinema and art speak to people beyond language and they will always be at the centre of people-to-people dialogue. "Technology, exports and imports all that is going to happen but cinema is always going to be at the forefront or art is going to be at the front of people-to-people exchanges," Shah Rukh said in an interview to state run CGTN.
Later, talking at the dialogue forum of the festival on Thursday, Shah Rukh said, "We should work on the story that everybody wants to do. India China co-production should not be based on making an expensive movie. Rather it should be based on a better story... It should be about our family values, our culture, our own feelings that should make this film; in which there is a message because emotionally we are connected to both the people of the country.
The festival also screened five Indian films, including Satyajit Ray's "Pather Panchali", "Apur Sansar", "Aparajito", the romantic comedy "Love Per Square Foot", the 2018 Indian romantic comedy and the thriller "Ittefaq".
