Independent filmmaker Rajnish Baba Mehta receives Human Solidarity award at 13th Tashkent International Film Festival

Independent filmmaker Rajnish Kumar’s internationally acclaimed short film Punyatiti: Death Anniversary receives the ‘For the Idea of the Human Solidarity’ award at the recently concluded 13th Tashkent International Film Festival. The event was held in Tashkent from September 28 to October 4 in Tashkent.

The 47-minute film narrates a story of a Muslim family’s survival during the communal riots that were sparked after the demolition of the Babri Mosque in Ayodhya (1992). Excited about winning the award, the self-taught writer and director says, “It is always inspiring to see your work getting recognised. As an independent filmmaker, I send my films to many film festivals but receiving an award at TIFF is very special, especially when you are the only filmmaker whose film has been selected. I am happy that my film resonated with the viewers and panel at TIFF. It's an honour to receive the award from director Luc Besson (of Lucy fame).”

Asked about the idea of the film, Rajnish shares that he came across a story of a family that was stuck in Ayodhya during riots. “It’s a film of survival and how a family loses their home and daughter to riots. The story is narrated in flashback,” he shares. Apart from TIFF, Punyatithi has been screened at several national and international film festivals including Pinewood Studios in London.  

The film is produced by Pallavi Sapra and has Prem Ratan Dhan Payo actor Deepraj Rana as the protagonist.

In addition, Rajnish was also among the twenty young filmmakers from 22 different countries, who participated in the A Movie in 5 Days competition - organised by TIFF. “I worked in Khiva city of Uzbekistan and my story was about long-distance relationship. It was a beautiful place and working with different creative minds is always a reward,” expresses the young writer, who walked the red carpet at TIIF with the Indian flag as the sole independent filmmaker invited to the festival.

Apart from Rajnish, Bollywood stars like Richa Chadha, Kunal Kapoor, Dino Moreau, Aditi Rao Hydari, Huma Qureshi, Boman Irani, Mithun Chakraborty, Randhir Kapoor and filmmaker Anurag Basu also walked the red carpet at TIIF.