By Soumyabrata Gupta

Copyright timesnownews

The 71st National Film Awards Saw Piyush Thakur win two accolades for his short The First Film. Based in a small town of 1960s India, where cinema is forbidden for women, The First Film sees a 14-year-old embarking on a quest to watch her first film. In an exclusive interaction with Zoom, Piyush opened up on whether winning two National Film Awards, a rare feat, will shape his career ahead and working with a cast who debuted in front of the camera. Calling winning to National Awards “an honour”, Piyush revealed he sees it “more as encouragement than as an achievement.” Piyush added, “It tells me that the kind of cinema we tried to make with The First Film – small, personal, and stubborn in its choices – has its own place and resonance. That gives me confidence to keep following stories that I truly believe in, even if they are not the most “market-friendly” on paper.” Piyush went on to reveal that looking ahead he is drawn to stories that carry both intimacy and universality. Also Read: 71st National Film Awards: Piyush Thakur Says The First Film Was Born From His Grandparents’ Stories – EXCLUSIVE “Your Big Indian Sumo, an Indo-Japanese feature script that was shortlisted at Sundance, is one such project I’ve been nurturing for a long time. It’s very different in setting and tone from The First Film, but it shares the same curiosity about people finding courage in unexpected ways,” he added. The filmmaker is also exploring newer ideas, “some small, some bigger in scope.” “What excites me most is the chance to experiment with form and emotion, to keep learning with every project. Recognition like this is valuable, but in the end what matters is whether the next story feels honest enough to deserve years of your life. That is the path I hope to keep walking,” he poignantly shared. Also Read: 71st National Film Awards: ‘I Hope Win Helps Me Get A Few More Projects’ Says Director Arjunn Dutta – EXCLUSIVE The filmmaker also shared his experience working with a cast who had predominantly never faced the camera before. “Working with the cast was one of the most rewarding parts of this film,” the National Film Award winner said, congratulating Priyanka Beriya and Vasudev Nishad, who were facing the camera for the very first time. “That inexperience actually worked in our favour,” Piyush shared, adding, “because it meant their performances carried a certain rawness and honesty.” “My job was less about “directing” them in the conventional sense and more about creating an environment where they felt safe to just be themselves,” he signed off.