Malayalam filmmaker and actor Basil Joseph shared on social media that he was elated to win the award for Best Director (Fiction) at the Asian Academy Creative Awards. He was conferred the award for his 2021 Malayalam film Minnal Murali starring Tovino Thomas in the titular role. The Asian Academy Creative Awards recognise the best content from 16 countries that are part of the Asia Pacific region. This year’s event was held at the Chijmes Hall in Singapore on Thursday, December 8. The awards ceremony is being held in person after a gap of two years since it was hosted online during the coronavirus pandemic.
“I feel overwhelmed and honoured to be declared the Best Director among 16 countries at the Asian Academy Awards 2022. Today, I feel prouder than ever to be a part of the Malayalam movie industry and to represent India on this stage,” Basil tweeted on Dec 8. He also took to Instagram to share a clip from his speech at the awards ceremony. “I am so proud and honoured to come from the Malayalam film industry, to represent India. We have been creating great content for a long time, we have been trying to push ourselves to go global. I am so glad that I am also a small part of that,” Basil said.
Basil also noted that a number of Indian filmmakers have in the past taken Indian films to the global stage, such as Satyajit Ray as well as Malayalam filmmakers like KG George, Padmarajan, Bharathan along with recent efforts by Anurag Kashyap and Kabir Khan. The Minnal Murali director also extended his gratitude to his crew, producers, actors Tovino Thomas and Guru Somasundaram, VFX company, Netflix, cinematographer, his wife, and other family members. Guru was also nominated under the Best Actor category.
Minnal Murali premiered on Netflix on December 24, 2021, in Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu, Kannada, Hindi, and English.The film revolves around a tailor who gains special powers after being struck by lightning. Apart from Tovino Thomas, the movie features Guru Somasundaram, Aju Varghese, Baiju, Femina George, Sneha Babu, and P Balachandran.