Days after Dhurandhar called ‘not Oscar material’, Aditya Dhar hopes for National Award - The Indian Express
Aditya Dhar, who is receiving a National Film Award on Tuesday, September 22, for Best Film for Article 370 graced the red carpet of the event in Kevadia, Gujarat. His wife, actor Yami Gautam, who is also winning the Best Actress award for the same film, was also present at the event. On the red carpet, the host could not help but ask Aditya about Dhurandhar, which is now the biggest money-making franchise in the history of Hindi cinema. But Aditya cleverly evaded the question saying that he might come back to the National Film Awards next year if Dhurandhar manages to win.
On the red carpet, Aditya was asked how he was feeling about the “biggest film in the Indian film industry,” and while the host did not name Dhurandhar, Aditya just laughed and said, “We are here for Article 370. We will discuss Dhurandhar, hopefully, if we come next year also, but today it’s all about Article 370.” Dhurandhar will be eligible to compete in the National Film Awards in 2027. This year, the awards are being given for the films released in 2024.
The Best Film win for Article 370 is Aditya’s second National Award. He had previously won a National Film Award for Best Director for Uri: The Surgical Strike.
Yami, who is winning her first National Film Award, was also asked to share her thoughts on her win and the actor said, “It feels great. We were just discussing that this is the biggest validation for any artist that you can receive. It is the highest honour that is presented to you by your country. I don’t think I will be able to express how I am feeling right now. I am still trying to soak it in. I am just smiling, but from inside, I am still feeling like… You know the energy of an absolute newcomer for whom everything is so big, everything is so new and so special, and for a film like Article 370, which gave me so much as an artiste, as an actor, everything that I had been wanting to do as an actor for the longest time.” Yami said that years of perseverance, patience and hard work led to “one moment and for me, I think that was Article 370.”
Aditya Dhar’s Dhurandhar was recently in the running as India’s contender for the Academy Awards. However, the film could only score 4 votes out of 14. Vivek Vaswani, who was a member of the 14-person Film Federation of India jury that selected India’s official entry to the Oscars, said that the jury felt that Dhurandhar wasn’t “Oscar-material.” He told NDTV in an earlier chat, “A couple of people liked it, but we didn’t think it was Oscar material.” Marathi film Gondhal was chosen as India’s entry for the 99th Academy Awards.
