NHRC honours winners of short film competition

The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) on Wednesday honoured the seven winners of its 2024 short film competition on human rights, presenting them with awards.

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Er Abdul Rashid Bhat’s film Doodh Ganga- Valley’s Dying Lifeline was awarded the first prize of Rs 2 lakh along with a trophy and a certificate. The documentary film from Jammu and Kashmir raises concerns about the free flow of various wastes into the pristine water of the Doodh Ganga River. The film also highlighted the need to stop polluting the river and restore it for the overall wellbeing of the people in the Valley. The film is in English, Hindi and Urdu with subtitles in English.

The second prize of Rs 1.5 lakh, along with a trophy and a certificate, was given to Fight for Rights by Kadarappa Raju from Andhra Pradesh. The film raises the issue of child marriage and education. It is in Telugu language with subtitles in English.

The third prize of Rs1 lakh was given to GOD by R Ravichandran, who hails from Tamil Nadu. The silent film underlines the value of potable water.

Four films were also awarded ‘Certificate of Special Mention’ with a cash award of Rs 50,000 each. These included: Aksharabhyasam by Shri Haneesh Undramatla from Telangana; Vilayilla Pattathari (An inexpensive graduate) by Shri R. Selvam from Tamil Nadu; Life of Seetha by Shri Madaka Venkata Satyanarayana from Andhra Pradesh and Be a Human by Shri Lotla Naveen from Andhra Pradesh.

NHRC chairperson Justice Ramasubramanian said that during the first edition of the competition in 2015, the commission only received about 40 entries. However, in its tenth edition, more than 300 entries were received from different parts of the country in 2024.

“This shows how this event has significantly gained traction as people acroos the county are choosing to make films in various Indian languages, making people aware of various human rights issues,” the chairperson stated.