Nandi is not for Off-beat films

After a long hiatus (Bommalata in 2006), debutant director Narasimha Nandi has done the Telugu film fraternity proud by bagging the Regional Film award for his film 1940 Lo Oka Gramam.

“I am elated about winning this prestigious award. My phone hasn’t stopped ringing since it was announced,” he says, gleefully. Has the coveted award came as a pleasant surprise, since he was competing with well-made films like Arundhati and Ashta Chamma? “Well, I was hopeful... since my film had won three state awards,” he says. Narasimha feels that the National Award jury would have been impressed with the “realistic period film set in 1940 and its severe tirade against prevalent caste system.”

Even though the film has received considerable critical acclaim, it hasn’t had a theatrical release. “I held 30 shows for distributors but no one seemed interested in buying the film. After this announcement, there are some interested buyers,” say Narasimha.