“It is a great feeling to win after 5 years” Director Vikram Kumar

Telugu romantic drama Ishq, which released in 2012, was a huge box office hit and firmly established actor Nitin’s position as a bankable star in the industry, while Nithya Menen managed to earn rave reviews for her performance. It was unanimously liked by masses and critics. Now the film has gone ahead and won the Nandi awards which is given by the Government of Andhra Pradesh across categories for deserving films. The Nandi awards for 2012 and 2013 could not be finalised because of the extremely volatile situation in the undivided state in the light of the political uncertainty caused by Telangana statehood movement. The list of winners for both the years was finally revealed on Thursday and several Tollywood stars are recalling their hits to celebrate their victory.

Talking about the award, director of Ishq Vikram Kumar (also known for helming Tamil films Yaavarum Nalam and 24) said, “When your movie is remembered after five years of its release, it is a great feeling. And when it wins an award under the category of the best family entertainer, what else you could ask for?” Actor Ajay, who played Mithran in 24, also won the best supporting actor award for Ishq. He said family entertainers are the need of the hour, “I believe you need more movies which have the potential to bring the family audience to theatres.”

Talking about his upcoming project with Akhil Akkineni, Vikram said, “The movie will go on floors from the first week of April. We are currently zeroing in on the heroine and will make an announcement in the coming week. For this film, we have roped in Bob Brown, the popular stuntman from Hollywood who has worked on movies like Captain America and XXX: The Xander’s Cage.”

Will the Tamil audience will get to see another film like Yaavarum Nalam or 24 from the director soon? “I believe in taking one step at a time. Once I complete my current project, I will decide if I want to work on a Tamil film,” said Vikram.