It’s time for celebration for the husband-wife duo of Pallavi Joshi, and Vivek Agnihotri as both of them won awards at the 67th National Film Award for their film ‘The Tashkent Files’. While she won an award for Best Supporting Actress, her husband bagged the prestigious award in the Best Screenplay and Dialogue category. ETimes got in touch with Pallavi to find out how they were celebrating the win, what went into the making of ‘The Tashkent Files’, and more. Read on:

Did you expect the win?

No, I wasn’t expecting it, because I have been waiting for the National Awards to happen for a long time. Because of the pandemic, there was no jury, and no award function, and we were wondering if it will be cancelled or clubbed with 2020, as not too many films released last year. When Vivek told me they were holding a press conference, I donned my producers’ hat and started to look out for the winners’ list as I had sent out some nominations. So, with every category, I kept wondering if we will win. Then I heard Vivek’s name for Best Screenplay and Dialogue and was so elated; I felt like a baby and started screaming. This is Vivek’s first National Award and everyone in the office was rejoicing, hugging each other with joy. Soon, Vivek pointed towards the screen, telling me to watch out for my name. It took me a while to understand what he was saying; I had forgotten that I had acted in the film as I was too busy looking for other people’s names. I can’t express how wonderful it is to see your name on the screen. I was thrown back to 1994 when I had won my first National Award for my film ‘Woh Chokri’. Back then I kept screaming and rejoicing, and this time, too, the reaction wasn’t any different.

Do awards matter to you?

National Awards are the biggest deal. In all the other award functions, there’s a jury. They watch the film and give out the awards, but then the jury is selected by the editors of the film magazines who hold these award shows, and whoever is saleable and available. As far as National Awards are concerned, it’s the merit of every single jury member, and it’s pan-India; there could be a DOP from South, audiographer from Orissa–they are the cream of the craft, who assemble to see your work. All of these people, from all different departments of filmmaking, are judging your work. So, yes, it’s a big deal. Moreover, the icing on the cake is that the President of India, himself, gives you the award. If my work is just judged by Bollywood, vis-a-vis by the best of the best Dop’s, musicians, the designer in the country, then yes, it makes a difference.

How did it feel to see ‘The Tashkent Files’ getting recognition


There was a time when all the critics had panned the film and given it a zero star-rating, without recognising and thinking about the filmmaker’s efforts. A lot of blood, sweat, and tears had gone into getting the actors and finance in place. I am glad the film ran for 100 days at the box office. People who went to watch the film, praised it on social media, and that’s how people started to know about it. And now when we see that the film has won a National Award, we are on cloud nine.