Made under Whistling Woods International, the short film KATHAKAAR, featuring Piyush Mishra in the lead role and directed by Abhimanyu Kanodia has achieved a rare feat of being a Semi-Finalist in the Foreign Narrative category of the 43rd Annual Student Academy Awards, Oscars.  Among 1,749 films that were submitted to the Student Academy this year, Kathakaar made it in roughly the top 5% of all films submitted. The film has also qualified as a Finalist at the Jio Filmfare Short Film Awards, 2017. On top of that, it has won 13 awards including 3 international awards and has been officially selected in 27 film festivals across the globe.
Kathakaar has also bagged prestigious awards at renowned film festivals such as 5th Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival, 5th Washington D.C. South Asian Film Festival, Washington D.C., II International Motivational Film Festival, Russia and 6th Jagran Film Festival, Mumbai.
 

Kathakaar is the story of Prakash, an old theater projectionist who loses his job as a result of changing technology and comes back to his native village. Depressed with this sudden loss of job, he struggles to figure out what to do with life. One day he succeeds in making a crying child laugh by his storytelling. He musters confidence, takes a chance and becomes a storyteller for the entire village, thereby rediscovering his passion. The story, therefore, welcomes a new beginning in his life, with arms wide open.

Kathakaar-Abhimanyu Kanodiya-Piyush Mishra-Short Film-Oscar Selection-Bollywoodirect
Abhimanyu Kanodia(Director) with Piyush Mishra
 
Talking about Kathakaar, the renowned film and theater actor, singer and lyricist, Piyush Mishra, who has acted in critically and commercially successful films like Pink, Gulal, Rockstar and Gangs of Wasseypur says: “I read a lot of scripts, but in this story, there was some X Factor. As an actor my character was good, the topic was of my liking and I had a gut feeling that this story can turn into a very good film. But, still, I had no idea that film would do so well.”
 
Kathakaar is conceived and directed by Abhimanyu Kanodia and produced by Shraddha Singh and Naveed M. Abhimanyu has also written and directed successful short films, such as Jangle Bells and Queen of Hearts already released on Youtube in the last one year.
 
Talking about Kathakaar, director Abhimanyu Kanodia says: “The story of Prakash ‘Kathakaar’ is not just a personal journey but rather a journey millions of people across the world take due to the change in technology and modernization. Such situations can lead to self-destructive tendencies. But, in Prakash’s case, it opens up another opportunity. I am really happy that the film has been appreciated all over. Reaching to the semi-finals of the student Oscars is a big achievement for all of us associated with the film and will definitely help us in our future endeavors.”
KATHAKAAR – List of Awards and Accolades
 
§ Awards and Accolades
 
 Semi-Finalist in the Foreign Narrative category of the 43rd annual Student Academy Awards.  Out of 1,749 submitted to the Student Academy, the advancement puts Kathakaar in roughly the top 5% of all films submitted.
 Finalist in the Jio Filmfare Short Film Awards, 2017
 Best International Short Film- 5th Vancouver International South Asian Film Festival, 2015
 Best Short Film (JURY) – 5th Washington D.C. South Asian Film Festival, Washington D.C., 2016
 Competitor Award- II International Motivational Film Festival BRIDGE of ARTS, Rostov-on-Don, Russia, 2016
 Best Short Film- 6th Jagran Film Festival, Mumbai, 2015
 Best Short Film- 5th Pune Short Film Festival, 2015
 Best Short Film- 4th Bangalore Shorts Film Festival, 2015
 Best Short Film- CORTOKINO International Film Festival, Mumbai, 2016
 Best Short Film- Aakruti International Film Festival, Mumbai, 2015
 Best Director- 4th Kolkata Shorts International Film Festival, 2015
 Best Screenplay- 6th Dada Saheb Phalke Film Festival, 2016
 Best Cinematography (Student)- Haryana International Film Festival, 2016
 Best Actor in a Short Film (Piyush Mishra): Haryana International Film Festival, 2016
 
§ Official selection
 
 17th Annual Filmi: Toronto’s South Asian Film Festival, Toronto, 2016
 6th International Film Festival of Student films and Film Schools – BASTAU, 2016
 3rd Benicia Film Festival, California, 2016
 2nd Machetanz Film Festival, Alaska, 2016
 PLANOS – Tomar International Short Film Festival, 2016
 1st Norwich Radical Film Festival, United Kingdom, 2016
 14th Pune International Film Festival, 2016
 8th Nashik International Film Festival, 2016
 5th Delhi International Film Festival, 2015
 5th Bengaluru International Short Film Festival, 2015
 2nd Rajasthan International Film Festival, Jaipur, 2016
 1st All Lights India International Film Festival, Kochi, 2015 (Opening Short Film)
 13th Frames Film Festival, Mumbai, 2016
 3rd Goa Short Film Festival, 2016
 3rd Navi Mumbai International Film Festival, 2016
 
§ Special Screening
 Ca’ Foscari Short Film Festival, Venice, Italy, 2016
Kathakaar-Abhimanyu Kanodia-Piyush Mishra-Short Film-Oscar Selection-Bollywoodirect
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