Comedian and actor Sumukhi Suresh’s web series Pushpavalli won accolades at the Istanbul Film Festival for October. The series won in three categories. Director Debbie Rao won for Pushpavalli in the best web series and best woman director categories, and Sumukhi won in the and best actress – feature film category.
Announcing the same, Sumukhi said on Twitter, “Pushpavalli won the Istanbul Film Awards for Best Series, Best Female Director and Best Actress. Istanbul is in Turkey. We are in cloud number nine. Just like Bryan Adams.” She also thanked writers Naveen Richard, Sumaira Sheikh, Kumar Shivam and Ayesha Nair; as well as Debbie Rao and Amazon Prime Video India on which the series was released. Sumukhi is also one of the writers of the series.
Special love for the writers @NaveenRichard @sumairashaik Kumar Shivam Ayesha Nair and yours truly.
— Sumukhi Suresh (@sumukhisuresh) November 27, 2020
A bone crushing hug to champion director @whydebbierao which she can complain about later.
And a heartfelt thank you @PrimeVideoIN for letting us be the way we are as a show
IFA Istanbul Film Awards is a monthly competition for films with yearly screenings that welcomes filmmakers and film lovers. It awards the work of independent filmmakers worldwide. Pushpavalli is among the monthly winners.
Pushpavalli has also been nominated for the Filmfare OTT Awards. It has had two seasons so far, with the first one releasing on December 15, 2017. The series was lauded for breaking stereotypes. In an interview with IANS, Sumukhi had said that the show was never meant to give a "message or preach". "I mean the lead is a stalker who is insecure! But I think the fact that a big girl is the lead and got 2 seasons to be the lead sounds nice," she had said. In Pushpavalli, Sumukhi plays an overweight woman in Bengaluru who stalks a man she's attracted to.
Sumukhi added that the success of the show "has made people realise that I am not just a stand up comic". "I am also an actor. I can hold your attention for 8 episodes and make you feel things. I can be a lead. Also I am beginning to be considered a better showrunner, better writer from season one which is a good sign," she said.
(With IANS inputs)