Two directors – Madhu C Narayanan and Aditya Dhar – have won the prestigious Gollapudi Srinivas National Award for the year 2019. The award was shared by the two directors for the films Kumbalangi Nights and Uri: The Surgical Strike. Madhu C Narayanan directed Kumbalangi Nights and Uri: The Surgical Strike was directed by Aditya Dhar. This is the first time that the prestigious award has been shared by two directors.
Shane Nigam shared the screen space with Fahadh Faasil in Kumbalangi Nights. Fahadh was the main villain and played the role of a psychopath in the Malayalam movie. The others in the star cast included Sreenath Bhasi, Soubin Shahir, and Ramesh Thilak.
Scripted by Shyam Pushlaran, the film was produced jointly by Dileesh Pothan, Syam Pushkaran and Nazriya Nazim under the banners Fahadh Faasil and Friends and Working Class Hero respectively. Sushin Shyam had composed the tunes for this flick with Shyju Khalid cranking the camera and Saiju Sreedharan editing it.
Kumbalangi Nights turned out to be the first big blockbuster of the year 2019. The film collected Rs. 4.8 crore at the Kerala box office on the opening weekend and Rs. 3.95 crore from Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) territories. It has grossed Rs. 20 crores during its 11-day run at the worldwide box office. In the Kochi multiplexes, Kumbalangi Nights has garnered Rs. 86.9 lakhs during its 14-day run, say sources.
Uri is a Bollywood flick that was based on the Indian army’s Surgical Strikes in Pakistan-occupied Kashmir (PoK) after the attacks in Jammu and Kashmir's Uri town on 18th September 2016. The film had Vicky Kaushal playing the lead role as an officer in the Indian Army. Uri was bankrolled by Ronnie Screwvala under his own banner. The film also starred Yami Gautam, Paresh Rawal, Kirti Kulhari, and Mohit Raina in important roles.