Ore Kadal wins audience award in Germany

Director Shyamaprasad's Malayalam film Ore Kadal (The Sea Within) won the audience award at Bollywood and Beyond, Germany's only festival of Indian Cinema. Shyamaprasad received a trophy and cash prize of Euros 1,000 in the festival that concluded on Sunday.

Ore Kadal beat Manish Acharya's Loins of Punjab, Umesh Kulkarni's Valu, The Wild Bull and Jag Mundhra's Shoot at Sight. In the festival, 20 feature films were screened over a period of five days including Kunal Kohli's Thoda Pyaar Thoda Magic. The festival also featured 23 documentaries and 13 short films.

Shyamaprasad paid tribute to the power of cinema where a film made in Kerala, based on Sunil Gangopadhyay's Bengali novel Hirak Deepthi, is able to steal hearts at a screening in Germany before an audience from all over Europe.

Ore Kadal examines the extra martial relationship between an intellectual economist and a housewife. The film stars Mammootty, Meera Jasmine, Narain, and Ramya Krishnan. Meera Jasmine recently won 55th South Filmfare Award for the best female actress for her distinct roles in Ore Kadal. It was also chosen as the inaugural film of the Indian Panorama section at the International Film Festival of India.