Director Mari Selvaraj, whose film Pariyerum Perumal won the hearts of many, recently received the Samashtee Award 2019 from Samashtee Foundation in association with Ambedkar Centre for Social Justice, Mumbai University.
Director @anuragkashyap72 presented the #Samashtee award to Director @mari_selvaraj
The prestigious award in the name of the Marathi Poet #NamdeoDhasal
After presenting the award #AnuragKashyap heap praises on #MariSelvaraj for making #PariyerumPerumal@beemji @officialneelam pic.twitter.com/gHUJJFaltd— Pariyerum Perumal (@pariyankaruppi) February 24, 2019
The award was presented to him by actor, director and producer Anurag Kashyap. After meeting Mari Selvaraj, Anurag Kashyap asked, “Is this your debut film? How did you direct such a film?” Mari Selvaraj replied, “It is my life sir.” Amidst a huge applause, Anurag hugged Selvaraj.
Speaking at the event, Mari Selvaraj said, “For a man like me who hails from Tirunelveli, being accepted and appreciated by a huge crowd for Pariyerum Perumal, and leading a discussion about the film among students, is what is the real victory. Despite not knowing the language, they understood the pain and the truth which Pariyan wanted to convey. I’m happy to see that Pariyan has reached everyone’s heart and created a conversation among the people regarding the issue.”
Pariyerum Perumal, a film that focused on caste oppression, starred Kathir and Anandhi in the lead roles with Yogi Babu in a supporting role. The film was produced by director Pa Ranjith. Music was composed by Santhosh Narayanan.
It is said that the film has become a recent topic of discussion in Maharashtra, and is being spoke about at many events. The movie was also screened for the students of IIT Mumbai, where the director headed a discussion after the screening.
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On behalf of the students of Mumbai University, the Samashtee Award is given to people for their ‘unparalleled contribution in the field of arts’. It was founded in honour of the Marathi poet and Dalit activist Namdeo Dhasal.
At this year’s event, filmmaker Kiran Rao, actress Anjali Patil, actors Milind Shinde, Jitendra Joshi, Suyash Tilak, Ritwik Kendra, Vinod Gaykar, producer Nitin Vaidya, and artist Shashikant were present.
On the work front, Mari Selvaraj will be directing Dhanush for an upcoming film which will go on floors sometime later this year. It was officially announced by the actor on his twitter handle in November. He said that the film will be produced by V Creations.