Kochi, Aug 16 (PTI) Anand Ekarshi who directed the Malayalam film "Aattam" (The Play) which won three National Awards for best feature film, screenplay and editing, termed the achievements as a "huge fortune" that was "beyond what we thought or desired".
Ekarshi gave the credit for the film's success to actor Vinay Fort, "who pushed me to do the film", and producer Ajit Joy, "who showed courage and faith to support us".
On the other hand, Fort, who spoke to a TV channel over phone, said the entire credit should go to the director and the producer.
Fort said that he was very happy with the awards as theatre artistes, who were the main actors in the film, were very rarely acknowledged.
"I hope there are many more such big awards from small-time actors in Kerala," he added.
Speaking to TV channels, the director said the film received the censor board certification in December 2022, but he and Joy decided to hold the film back for one year and send it to various festivals instead.
"When we saw the first out of the film after the shoot, I said that a festival route was also possible besides a commercial release. So it was a joint decision of myself and the producer to hold the release for a year.
"The decision paid off as we won awards at various festivals and when the film was released in January this year, it got a good response from the public," he said.
Ekarshi said the response towards the film in theatres was not as big as was desired, but what happened after its OTT release was surprising.
"When it was released on OTT many people watched it across the country and it received a great response," he said.
Regarding the subject of the film -- sexual harassment accusation by the sole actress in a theatre group against a movie star who joined them -- Ekarshi said it was "universal".
"It is something women everywhere or a female friend of theirs has suffered. The topic is always relevant," he said.