Anjali dedicates award to trafficking survivors

Hyderabad: Anjali Patil, who played Durga in the Telugu film Naa Bangaru Talli, received the Special Jury Award announced at the 61st National Film Awards on Wednesday.

The actress, who has acted in a few award winnings films like Delhi in a Day and Prakash Jha’s Chakravyuh, says she still can’t believe that she got a National Award. “I am overwhelmed and very happy. Actually I still don’t believe that I got this award. One of my friends called me and told me about it,” said Anjali.

“The film is based on a real story and it was very difficult and painful to shoot. The character of Durga was not very easy. The film deserves to be awarded. All the people who worked on this film, from spot boy to the director, deserve this great award,” she said.

“I would like to dedicate this award to those women who have been rescued from human trafficking, who have been pulled from their homes and parents for this cruel and scary trafficking,” adds Anjali.

Talking about how she landed the project, Anjali says that director Rajesh Touchriver saw her in Delhi in a Day and liked her work.

“He approached me and sent the script of this Telugu film. I liked the character Durga. It was a challenging role and I immediately told him ‘let’s do it’. It involves a lot of violence,” she says.

Recalling her shooting days for this film, Anjali says, “I still remember the beautiful Rajahmundry and the Godavari. Some parts were shot in Hyderabad, but I miss the Godavari river.”

She adds that she did all her own stunts.

“I had to jump from a first floor window... I did that stunt without any safety measures. If I had slipped I could have died. It was one of the scariest stunts of my life,” says the actress.

Director Rajesh Touchriver is an acclaimed director, but Anjali says that she never did the film expecting an award.