Panga director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari reacts to Kangana Ranaut’s National Award win

By: Mohnish Singh

The 67th National Film Awards were announced on Monday, and Kangana Ranaut won her fourth Best Actress award for her powerful performances in Panga (2020) and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (2019).

While Panga starred her in the role of a middle-class married woman who embarks on the journey of fulfilling her dream of becoming a Kabaddi world champion, Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi featured her as renowned freedom fighter Rani Laxmibai, one of the leading figures of the Indian Rebellion of 1857.

After her big win at the prestigious ceremony, Panga director Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari said that she is full of gratitude. “I still remember the date April 14, 2017, when I had gone to meet Kangana with Panga’s screenplay. I told her this is my vision, that this film is about a woman who has a lot of dreams and is also about giving hope to a whole lot of other women. She heard the screenplay and it did not even take her like 2 minutes to say that she’ll do the film, and I am not exaggerating,” Tiwari told a publication.

She went on to add, “She took my vision forward, and that's what a good partnership is all about. I had the idea, the screenplay and the vision and she got it to life very beautifully on screen. I think she is an outstanding actor and she should get many more National Awards for many more films.”

In addition to Kangana Ranaut, Panga also starred Neena Gupta, Jassie Gill and Richa Chadha in pivotal roles. Though the film did not set the cash registers jingling at the box-office, it did receive widespread critical acclaim.

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