Madonne Ashwin on winning National Film Award for Best Debut Director: ‘To find my film among all these champions gives me so much pleasure’

It has been a good day for Tamil cinema as the film industry has won several awards at the 68th National Film Awards. Soorarai Pottru has won the top awards this year with Suriya winning the Best Actor Award (sharing it with Ajay Devgn) and Sudha Kongara winning the Best Director Award.

When asked about the Tamil film industry bagging many awards at the 68th National Film Awards, Madonne Ashwin said, “Definitely happy about it. We all knew Suriya sir will win the Best Actor award even before the announcement. It is a much-deserved victory. Director Sudha Kongara mam also received many accolades for Soorarai Pottru. Similarly, director Vasanth sir’s Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengalum has won multiple awards. To find my film among all these champions gives me so much pleasure.”

Starring Yogi Babu in the lead role, Mandela, which premiered on Netflix, dealt with the importance of a single vote. Despite dealing with an important social message, the film turned out to be a hilarious affair.

Madonne Ashwin is currently directing Sivakarthikeyan film Maaveeran. The announcement of the project happened a few days ago with the release of an intriguing teaser. Talking about the movie, Ashwin said, “I can’t reveal details about the film. It will be a spoiler. The teaser hints at the idea of the movie. The award has made the whole team more responsible.”

When asked if Sivakarthikeyan wished him on winning the awards, the director said, “The moment the award was announced, Sivakarthikeyan got on a video call with me and as he was congratulating the second award was announced. It was a great moment.”