Earlier in Feburary, it was announced that Vinothraj PS’s Koozhangal (Pebbles), backed by Nayanthara and Vignesh Shivan, has won the Tiger Award at the 50th International Film Festival Rotterdam. It is the first Tamil film to win this prestigious honour. Now, the award trophy has reached the hands of Vignesh Shivan and Nayanthara.
The film premiered at the Rotterdam festival earlier in Feburary. It is the second Indian film to win this award. Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s 2017 Malayalam film Sexy Durga had won it in 2017. Director turned producer Vignesh Shivan, took to his social networking page to share pictures of himself with Nayanthara, both holding the Tiger Award.
The International Film Festival Rotterdam is known for recognising independent and experimental films. Last year, Arun Karthick’s Nasir had won the NETPAC award for Best Asian Film at this festival. Koozhangal, a drama involving a drunkard father and his son, stars newcomers Karuththadaiyan and Chella Pandi, and revolves around their journey to get back the mother, who has gone back to her father’s house because of her absuive husband.
Talking about why he and Nayanthara had chosen to present this film, Vignesh Shivan had earlier said in a statement, “There are certain days that become precious and valuable when we come across a film that makes us proud of the field we are associated with. One such moment was watching this beautiful movie Koozhangal, which marks the directorial debut of PS Vinoth Raj. The film’s premise is as simple as the title but created an exquisitely lovable impact within. Koozhangal didn’t steal our attention for a spellbinding performance of new actors and technical crew but stirred our souls with the adorable background score by Yuvan Shankar Raja. Such an experience instantly instilled in us the excitement to not just present the film theatrically, but also take it to international film festivals and take over the entire production as well. We are proud to present this film for you in the hope that it will make an impact on you as well.”
