Ojaswwee Sharma will be receiving the prestigious ‘Rajat Kamal’ Award from the President of India, this year at the 68th National Film Awards ceremony to be held in New Delhi for his feature documentary ‘Admitted’, which has won him the Special Jury Award in the Non-Feature Category of 68th National film Awards
“It is overwhelming to see the film get such recognition and respect from not only the audience, but an esteemed jury of the 68th National Awards. I am overjoyed by the appreciation and thank the Ministry of Information & Broadcasting for bestowing upon me this award, ensuring that stories of all format and genre find their space in films,” said Ojaswwee Sharma.
With this recognition, Ojaswwee Sharma has become the most recent recipient of the Special Jury Award, joining the league of:
29th NFA 1981 – Satyajit Ray 38th NFA 1990 – Pankaj Kapur, Sunny Deol 40th NFA 1992 – Ketan Mehta 41st NFA 1993 – Shashi Kapoor, Pallavi Joshi 43rd NFA 1995 – Shyam Benegal 44th NFA 1996 – Amol Palekar, Kiron Kher 50th NFA 2002 – Prakash Raj (South actor) 51st NFA 2003 – Manoj Bajpai 53rd NFA 2005 – Anupam Kher 54th NFA 2006 – Vishal Bhardwaj 55th NFA 2007 – Anil Kapoor, Feroz Abbas Khan 58th NFA 2010 – Anant Mahadevan 60th NFA 2012 – Rituparno Ghosh, Nawazuddin Siddiqui 63rd NFA 2015 – Kalki Koechlin 68th NFA 2020 – Ojaswee Sharma
Admitted is a biographical docudrama based on the life of Dhananjay Chauhan – the 1st transgender student of Panjab University, Chandigarh. It is available to watch on YouTube on Rolling Frames Entertainment, and has been produced by Pinaka Mediaworks
Ahead of the announcement, the Chairperson and other Jury members called on the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shri Anurag Thakur and presented him with the selections for the Awards. Shri Thakur congratulated all the winners and said, “2020 was a particularly difficult year for films, yet the nominations consisted of great works
The Jury comprised of eminent film makers and film personalities from across the Indian cine- world. The national jury made a special note of the film’s forceful and brave lead character, and how the subject has been dealt by the make.
The awards were announced by Shri Chitrartha Singh, Chairperson, Non-Feature Jury, Shri Anant Vijay, Chairperson, Best Writing on Cinema Jury and Shri Dharam Gulati, Feature Film Jury (Member – Central Panel) in presence of Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Ojaswwee had recently received the award for the Best National Documentary Above 60 mins for ‘Admitted’ at 17th MIFF – Mumbai International Film Festival 2022 by Films Division India and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India, held in Mumbai.
Ojaswwee’s films have received national and international recognition with awards at acclaimed film festivals globally, bringing glory to India. Ojaswwee’s work has been recognized by the Media Federation of India in 2022 and Public Relations Council of India in 2021 for his work in films and instilling pride in the community through filming thought provoking, realistic and socially relevant films and showcasing them through film festivals and public events.
“It is the story of the struggles I made in my life for the right to education and the people who have been with me in this campaign are also interviewed. It is also a bitter truth that the struggles of transgender life never end, they will continue to go on till the society’s thinking does not change. In this, all the dialogues were personal, which were based on my experiences. The documentary has been made beautifully by Director Ojaswwee Sharma. I wish Ojaswwee Sharma Bhai a happy bright
future and congratulate him for the award”
– Dhananjay Chauhan.
Vipul Amrutlal Shah said, “Being the chairman of the National Award jury was an honor. It was for the COVID affected year 2020, where-in most of the films could not go ahead with their shoots and releases, so I was skeptical that there might not be enough quality films to consider. But to our surprise there were many amazing films and deliberating on those films was a great honor. We have done our best, with full honesty and commitment. Watching 66 films in a short span of time was challenging and the entire jury was completely committed to the task. They have done a great job so my congratulations to all of them”.
Chitratha Singh, who lead the non-feature jury stated ” We have been able to review close to 140 nonfeature films including documentaries and it is amazing to see the kind of content that has come forth .”
Admitted has been an official Selection at:
- 12th KASHISH Mumbai International Queer Film Festival 2021
- Impact DOCS Awards 2019, California
- 9th Jagran Film Festival 2018 (Mumbai)
- Changing Face International Film Festival, Australia
- IFFI – NFDC Film Bazaar 2018 – Viewing Room
- Independent Talents International Film Festival 2018, USA
- New Delhi Film Festival 2018
- Tarang – Delhi international Queer Theatre and Film Festival 2018
Admitted released on 13th June, 2020.
Prior to the National Award, Admitted has won for ‘Best Documentary’ at
- 17th MIFF – Mumbai International Film Festival 2022 by Films Division India and Ministry of Information & Broadcasting, Government of India India – Best Documentary
- Chandigarh Music & Film Festival 2022, Chandigarh – Special Mention Award
- Chandigarh Music & Film Festival 2022, Chandigarh – Special Mention Award
- 5th Bioscope Global Film Festival 2018 – Best
Admitted has had special screenings at the Panjab University, Chandigarh and the American Centre, New Delhi.
About Ojaswwee Sharma:
Ojaswwee Sharma is best known for writing and directing films, documentaries and campaigns that are socially relevant and rooted to reality which instill pride in the community through filming thought provoking, realistic and socially relevant films Before Admitted his narrative shorts Zubaan (2018), The Last Date (2018), Chaurassi (2022), Badalti Soch (2018), And documentaries Scars – That Remain After 100 Years of Jallianwala Bagh Massacre (2019), Silver Lining – The Journey of Rashpal Singh (2022), have been appreciated well. He established Pinaka Mediaworks LLP, Rolling Frames Entertainment and Rolling Frames Motion Pictures. Ojaswwee Sharma is also the India Head for Sikhlens and Festival Director Sikhlens: Sikh Arts & Film Festival India Chapter that brings world class cinema, showcasing Sikh diaspora, achievements, and oneness to India which is organized each year in February in Chandigarh.
“A common man’s perception of the term ‘films’ is mere entertainment. At Pinaka Mediaworks, we believe that ‘films’ go beyond just entertainment. Our objective is to make films which are thought- provoking. The love, recognition, and the overwhelming recognition that our film ‘Admitted’ has received, all have been great contributing factors to encourage us to keep making more ‘Thought Provoking Films’ that add value to society and nation building.” – Sunil Sharma, Producer of Admitted.
“Honestly, it’s a surreal feeling . We expected Admitted to win numerous awards because we could see its caliber to make people emotionally available to the people who are often stigmatized. But never in my wildest dreams had I thought that it has the ability to win one of the most prestigious award of our country. I am proud of Admitted, Ojaswwee Sir and our team for achieving such a glorious feat. Thank you NFA and respected jury for honoring us with such a memorable milestone. – Bhasker Pandey, Editor of Admitted
