Marathi film Killa bags Crystal Bear at Berlin Film Festival

February 19, 2014 - 3:37 PM IST

The Marathi feature film Killa which premiered recently at the prestigious film festival Berlinale has bagged the top award, Glasernen BÃ¤r (The Crystal Bear) for the best feature film and also got the Special Mention from the International Jury of KPlus.

Killa is the third Marathi film to be selected in Berlinale in its entire history and it is the first Indian feature film to win this much coveted award. Produced by Madhukar R Musle, Ajay G Rai, Alan McAlex under the banner, Jar Pictures and presented by M R Filmworks, the film was a part of NFDC Film Bazaar's Work-in-Progress (WIP) Lab in 2013. Jar Pictures' film Liar's Dice starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui earlier this year was in Sundance Film Festival 2014 in World Dramatics Competition section.

The producer Ajay G Rai says, "The recognition from Berlinale underlines our faith and commitment to produce quality cinema. We feel honoured and proud to represent Indian cinema on global platform." Talking about why he believed in the film, Ajay adds, "Killa is a heartfelt and sensitive portrayal of emotions and I feel everyone will identify with the characters. We are looking to release the film this summer in May."

The ecstatic first time director and FTII graduate, Avinash shares his feelings on winning the award. "It's a wonderful feeling. I am completely overwhelmed by how children reacted to the film. I think the film reached to it its audience where it belongs to. I am so thankful to Berlinale for providing us this platform to showcase our culture," says Avinash who has also shot the film. He has earlier worked on Kai Po Che and is currently working as the Director of Photography for Nishikant Kamat's next starring Irrfan Khan.