His charcoal tussar asymmetrical kurta with black linen palazzo by Bengal based designer Anushree Malhotra and Roaring Lion from Versace footwear collection, grabbed instant attention at the red carpet. He was also seen with a golden “uttariya” a traditional Bengali stroll often used with traditional kurta.
Though last year, Ram Kamal attended the National Film Award as recipient for his film Ek Duaa, this year he was a part jury for Best Writing in Cinema and Best Book of Indian cinema. Ram Kamal was greeted at the red carpet by esteemed members from Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, followed by his live feed on Doorsharshan (the official broadcasting channel for NFA).
“It was a sheer honour to share space with such veteran personalities from various walks of life. Selecting process was meticulously set by NFDC, and we had to follow the guidelines. The winners were unanimously selected by the jury members… as we decided to honour Kishore Kumar’s biography and veteran columnist Deepak Dua was Best Writing in Cinema,” informs Ram Kamal Mukherjee, who has penned three biographies so far on personalities like Hema Malini, Sanjay Dutt and Mithun Chakraborty.
Ram Kamal mingled with Bollywood big wigs, like Karan Johar, Ayan Mukherji, Sooraj Barjatiya, Manoj Bajpayee, Sharmila Tagore and Dadasaheb Phalke winner Mithun Chakraborty. Media went fanatic when Ram Kamal hugged Mithun and he said, “Arre, tui toh filmmaker hoye gechis!” (From an author you have became a filmmaker now.)
Ram Kamal was also spotted having private dinner with south sensation Rishabh Shetty, the winner of Best Actor for his blockbuster film Kantara. Rishabh and Ram Kamal discussed the growth of regional cinema and importance of local folk in our films. “Rishabh is an extremely humble actor, and obliged everyone with selfies. Of course it was getting a bit overwhelming for him, as people didn’t spare him while he was having his dinner at The Lalit.
NFA and NFDC had assured that guests are not deprived of Navarati Puja and Bhog, so they had installed a special Navraatri food counter for those who wanted to enjoy the speciality.
Music director Pritam, Academy winner AR Rahman and veteran director Mani Ratnam graced the occasion as proud recipients of the ceremony.
Ram Kamal also bonded with Best Child artist Sreepath from Unni Mukundan’s film Mallikapuram. Incidentally the day he received the award also happened to be his birthday, so he was welcomed with a thunderous applause at Vigyan Bhawan auditorium. “He is a such sweet boy,” says Ram Kamal. “He reminded me of my son Rian, who is probably of same age. Sreepath played parallel lead with actor Unni Mukundan in Mallikapuram. Another talented personality who won hearts with her tears on stage was Manasi Parekh who won Best Actress for her Gujurati film Kutch Express.
Nikki Joshi was also seen mingling with Ram Kamal at the official dinner. While a bunch of talented winners like Somanth Kundu who won Best Makeup for Aparajito, Arpita Mukherjee who won a writer for Gulmohar, Kaushik Ganguly won Best Bengali film for his thriller Kaberi Antardhyan.
The evening ended on a happy note, wherein Information and Broadcasting Minsiter Ashwini Vaishnaw promised to stand by Indian Film Industry against piracy and also requested the makers and talents to focus on core storytelling.
