Author turned director Ram Kamal Mukherjee won Best Director for his Hindi film ‘Season’s Greetings’, a tribute to Rituparno Ghosh at the third edition of IWMBUZZ Digital Awards 2021.
Bollywood actress Celina Jaitly Haag bagged Most Popular Actress Award for her critically acclaimed performance in ‘Season’s Greetings’.
Produced by Assorted Motion Pictures and SS1 Entertainment, the film also stars Lillette Dubey and Azhar Khan. ‘Season’s Greetings’ was premiered last year on Zee5 Premium and became the most widely viewed short film of the year. “I am overwhelmed with this honour, and I truly feel that the film is blessed by Rituda and audiences across the globe,” says director Ram Kamal Mukherjee.
Celina Jaitly who is currently in Austria with her family added, “I am over the moon to win “Best Actress Short Film” amongst such amazing fellow actress nominees like Kajol, Vidya Balan whom I admire deeply. ‘Season’s Greetings’ happened when I was shattered as a human being. Ram Kamal and Lillette ji rebuilt me as a performer while my husband rebuilt me as a person. This win has been a much awaited win because after many international film festivals wins and nominations, I was truly looking forward to an endorsement from my own industry. My director Ram Kamal Mukherjee who believed in me even before I did, I earned a guru in my costar Lillette ji who retrained me, my co stars Azhar Khan and Shree Ghatak were so kind, my producers Sarbani, Aritra Das and Shailendraji’s unwavering support for me were all a sign from my late parents and Rituda that I was guided and blessed by the divine. I could not have done it if my husband Peter Haag had not rebuilt me from the ashes and made me do what I do best – act. Thank you IWMBuzz for recognising the hard work and talent which went through a lot of struggle to make its mark.”
Producer Aritra Das thanked the entire team for making it possible. “Last year we released the film in the middle of the pandemic, and yet managed to get a massive response from viewers all across. I would give the entire credit to my team who stood by our vision and specially team Zee5 for acquiring our film and encouraging us in making the content that would make a difference,” says producer Aritra Das from Assorted Motion Pictures.
‘Season’s Greetings’ is India’s first film to collaborate with the United Nations under the Free and Equal campaign and won many prestigious national and international awards at film festivals. The film premiered at Cardiff International Film Festival last year.
Other winners are as follows:
Best Actress In A Web Series: Sushmita Sen (‘Aarya’ (2020))
Power Woman Of The Year: Ekta Kapoor
Disruptor Of The Year: Sameer Nair
Trendsetter Of The Year: Tiger Shroff
Most Popular Actor In A Digital Film: Nawazuddin Siddiqui (‘Raat Akeli Hai’ (2020)).
