Manoj Bajpayee's Festival favourite, Hindi psychological drama, 'Gali Guleiyan' (In the Shadows) has added another feather to its cap! Manoj's stellar performance has won him the Best Actor Award at the recently concluded New York Indian Film Festival.
Acknowledging all the praise and good wishes coming to him, Manoj took to twitter and said: "गली गुलीयां gets an honour at @nyindianff congratulations to the team of@GaliGuleiyan and the captain @dipeshjainfilm"
The film's debutant director Dipesh Jain said, "We are elated to hear about Manoj sir's award at the NY Indian Film Festival. It is an acknowledgement of his stellar performance in the film. We consider ourselves very blessed to have worked with an actor like him who embraces his character so seamlessly and makes it his own. Heartiest congratulations to him once again!"
It is not often that a film can boast of a simultaneous premiere at three prestigious International Film Festivals - Busan International Film Festival, Chicago International Film Festival & Mumbai's MAMI and, go on to win the Grand Jury award at the latter. Yet, Gali Guleiyan did just that last year!
The film has travelled to more than 15 top International Film Festivals and won audience accolades and awards along the way. These include recent screenings at the prestigious 42nd Cleveland International Film Festival, the Indian Film Festival of Los Angles, Atlanta Film Festival and the New York Indian Film Festival.
All this perhaps serves as the perfect launch pad for the film to release theatrically in India and worldwide soon.
Gali Guleiyan, is a Hindi psychological drama about a man trapped within the walls and alleys of Old Delhi and his own mind, who attempts to break free to find a human connection. The main protagonist is played by the extremely talented Manoj Bajpayee ably supported by an ensemble cast of actors par excellence - Ranvir Shorey, Neeraj Kabi and Shahana Goswami along with debutant child actor Om Singh.
Not just the stellar cast, the film also boasts of some of the best technicians. Many Oscar, Emmy and Grammy-winning / nominated artists have worked on the film that was completed at top Hollywood facilities like Fox studios, Light Iron and Skywalker Sound. The post-production took place in Los Angeles, New York and San Francisco.
Earlier, talking about the film, Dipesh said, "When Shuchi (my sister & producer) and I started this journey of making Gali Guleiyan, we felt that it was a bold and risky story especially for a debut film. But it's a story very close to our heart and takes you into the depths of human mind and emotions. In many ways it is an ode to my growing up years in the alleys of Old Delhi- to my personal fears and a feeling of entrapment that I had experienced as a child. I have been extremely blessed to have an ensemble cast of brilliant actors each of whom has breathed life into the characters they play with such élan! To ensure the best look and feel for our audience, we have ensured that top of the line technicians worked on it. Currently in a successful Festival run, we are now looking forward to its theatrical release worldwide soon."
Directed by debutant Dipesh Jain, produced by Shuchi Jain of Exstant Motion Pictures, 'GALI GULEIYAN' will release in India and Worldwide this year.