Director Chatainya Tamhane has won the best screenplay award for his Marathi-language feature The Disciple at the 15th Asian Film Awards.
The winners in 18 categories were announced on Friday at a ceremony hosted by the Asian Film Awards Academy (AFAA) in conjunction with Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and Asian Contents & Film Market (ACFM) at the Paradise Hotel Busan.
The ceremony, which was also streamed live on YouTube, was held in a hybrid format with total 80 nominees attending on-site or participating online.
Tamhane, who is currently in Mumbai, said he was thrilled that the film is being recognised globally.
“It’s a terrific honour to be nominated and then to win was like a double surprise. I am very happy that the film is being recognised internationally,” Tamhane told PTI.
“Vivek (Gomber – producer) is in South Africa shooting right now and I am really missing him. The lead actor recently turned father so he is busy with his responsibility. I will celebrate the moment with my friends and family. It is indeed a great honour,” he added.
The Disciple follows Sharad Nerulkar (Aditya Modak), an Indian classical vocalist trying to achieve purity in his work as he has been raised on the stories of his father and guru about the masters of the past.
The film also features actors Arun Dravid, Sumitra Bhave, Deepika Bhide Bhagwat, and Kiran Yadnyopavit.
Last year, Tamhane won the best screenplay award for The Disciple at the Venice Film Festival, where the movie had its world premiere. The film also won the FIPRESCI International Critics Prize and received the Amplify Voices Award at the Toronto International Film Festival.
The Disciple is the second feature film of the 34-year-old director after his much-acclaimed 2014 movie Court, which also had Gomber serving as an actor and producer.
Other big winners at the Asian Film Awards were Kurosawa Kiyoshi’s wartime period drama Wife of a Spy (Japan), which received the best film award, the best actress award for Aoi Yu and the best costume design award for Koketsu Haruki.
Zhang Yimou won the best director trophy for One Second (Mainland China), which also earned the best newcomer award for the actress Liu Haocun. Korea's Yoo Ah-in, who played the mute protagonist in Voice of Silence (Korea) won the best actor prize, while Kim Hyun-bin won the best supporting actor award for his role as a deaf schoolboy in The Silent Forest (Taiwan).
Lee Byung-hun received the Excellence in Asian Cinema Award, which celebrated his stellar acting career spanning over three years.
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