'Haraamkhor', 'Chauthi Koot' bag top honours at Mumbai film fest

Mumbai, Nov 6 (IANS) The 17th Jio MAMI Mumbai Film Festival came to a close on Thursday with films such as "Haraamkhor", "Chauthi Koot" and "Thithi" bagging the top awards.

Bollywood superstar Salman Khan was the guest of honour at the closing ceremony, which was followed by the award function.

Speaking on the occasion, Salman said: "I'm sorry I missed the opening ceremony of the festival. I wouldn't miss it the next time".

"I'm so happy that the festival has been reintroduced thanks to Kiran Rao, Anupama Chopra and their team who made this possible. I think this festival is the second best thing that has happened to Kiran after Aamir Khan," he said.

Salman also said awards won at this festival will always remain special because they are given on merit.

Celebrities such as Saif Ali Khan, Riteish Deshmukh, Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Nandita Das, Esha Gupta, Radhika Apte and Vidya Balan were present among others.

The international competition jury, headed by Ava DuVernay, awarded the Golden Gateway of India trophy for the best film in the international competition section to "Ixcanul Volcano", directed by Jayro Busatamante.

The jury gave the Silver Gateway of India trophy to Kyrgistan film "Heavenly Nomadic", while the jury grand prize was awarded to Kannada film "Thithi".

The special jury award in direction was won by César Augusto Acevedo's film "Land and Shade".

The jury awards for best screenplay and best acting were given to "Songs My Brother Taught Me" and "Sleeping Giant" respectively.

In the India Gold category, the Golden Gateway of India trophy was won by "Chauthi Koot", which was directed by Gurvinder Singh.

Director Shlok Sharma's "Haraamkhor", starring Nawazuddin Siddiqui, was presented the Silver Gateway of India trophy.

A special jury award in this section was awarded to "The Illusion of My Mind".

Directors below the age of 25 pitted their skill in a short film competition Dimensions Mumbai category, which is headed by filmmaker Dibakar Banerjee.

The jury awarded the Golden Gateway of India award to Dhruv Sehgal's "Kunal" and the Silver Gateway of India trophy to Disha Rindani's "Meet the Voice".

In the Half Ticket section, Malayalam film "Ottaal", about child labour, won the Golden Gateway of India award. It also won the Film for Social Impact award.

The Silver Gateway of India trophy in this category was awarded to Norway film "Operation Arctic".

The special jury awards were given to Nagesh Kukunoor's "Dhanak" and British film "X+Y".

"My Grandfather was a Cherry Tree" won the Golden Gateway of India award in the Half Ticket shorts category while Russian film "About a Mother" was given the Silver Gateway of India trophy.

The jury special award for direction in this section was given to "Daan Durft".

Authors Balaji Vittal and Anirudha Bhattacharajee won the Excellence in Writing on Cinema award for their book "Gaata Rahe Mera Dil", which offers a sneak peek into the making some of Bollywood most popular hit songs.

The Young Critic award went to Wayne Demello for his passion and deep understanding of the film medium.

The Young Critics jury awarded "Kaul", directed by Aadish Keluskar, the Silver Gateway of India trophy.

The audience choice award went to Iranian film "Taxi" by Jafar Panahi. Click the Movie button below for more info:
Haraamkhor