“A proud moment for us” – Rustom producer Prerna Arora (KriArj) on Akshay Kumar winning National Award

By Joginder Tuteja -

April 8, 2017 - 3:44 PM IST

With Akshay Kumar winning a National Award for Best Actor after being in the industry for 26 years, it has been a strong reason to rejoice for all involved. The actor-superstar has been consistently delivering good performances which resulted in Rustom as well as Airlift being in contention to fetch him an award for the Best Actor. This is something that Priyadarshan, the chairperson of the feature film section for the National Film Awards, has clarified as well by further mentioning that technically only one film could have been mentioned against Akshay Kumar's name and this is where Rustom was the chosen one.

“A proud moment for us” – Rustom producer Prerna Arora (KriArj) on Akshay Kumar winning National Award

No wonder, the film's producer and co-owner of KriArj Entertainment, Prerna Arora, is ecstatic. More so, since Rustom was her first ever film as a producer and there are many more which are lined up for release already in 2017 and 2018.

"We are extremely excited and proud that our debut film won over not only Box Office rewards but also the fact that Akshay Sir has won the prestigious National Award," says Prerna, "This is a proud moment for us indeed!"

The sentiment is echoed by Girish Johar, co-producer of Rustom, "When a film of yours does so well commercially, wins appreciation from the critics and then goes on to win a National Award for it as well, it is truly fantastic. Akshay Kumar has truly deserved it over the years and with Rustom he has sealed it further. For us as filmmakers, it is the culmination of all the effort and hard work that goes into putting together something for the big screen. We are elated of course, it is time to celebration."

Meanwhile the man of the moment, Akshay Kumar, has shared his message on social media already and has slipped back into the shooting mode. Currently on location for PadMan, where he has National Award winning Neerja's Sonam Kapoor for company, he could well be gearing up for a celebration of sorts.

"It has to be seen though whether this would be a major celebration with friends and industry folks or something much quieter with just his immediate family," informs our source, "He has traditionally stayed away from industry awards and has been quite vocal around his lack of interest and faith in them. However, National Awards is a different ballgame altogether. He truly respects them and is genuinely happy that his efforts over the last 26 years have been recognized after all. May be, he just surprises with a celebration. Let's wait and watch."

While one waits to see that happen, for those at KriArj it is indeed a moment of celebration already, what with their National Award winning actor gearing up already for the Independence Day weekend release of Toilet - Ek Prem Katha.