July 28: Firsts are always special and for the makers of the year's most triumphant film franchise - Dhurandhar - their maiden venture winning big at National Awards is simply a moment to savour. Just days after Article 370, directed by Aditya Suhas Jambhale and co-produced by Aditya Dhar, Jyoti Deshpande and Lokesh Dhar, was announced one of the biggest winners at the 72nd National Film Awards, B62 Studios Co-Founder and producer Lokesh Dhar has shared an emotional note reflecting on the film's journey, the studio's vision and the stories that continue to shape its cinema.
Callg Article 370 the first film released by B62 Studios almost two years ago, Dhar described the National Award recognition as a moment of immense gratitude for the entire team behind the film.
Sharing his thoughts, Lokesh Dhar wrote,
"It's been a minute since the National Awards were announced. Article 370 was the first film we released at B62 Studios, almost two years ago. Our intention was to bring stories to the screen that keep us awake at night; the ones that stay with you long after the lights go off. The odds weren't in our favor. And it's great to be the underdog."
Reflecting on the film's success, he added,
"For this film to win three National Awards -- Best Feature Film, Best Actress and Best Music, is an honour. I'm deeply grateful to the 72nd National Film Awards jury. For the audience to have shown this film so much love, along with the love they've shown to Dhoom Dhaam, Baramulla and Dhurandhar, is beyond words."
Dhar also spoke about the personal memories that have shaped the stories B62 Studios tells. Recalling evenings spent listening to family elders narrate tales from Kashmir, he wrote that those stories continue to influence the studio's creative vision. "Some of this success, I believe, is owed to the blessings of the elders... When the electricity went out in the evenings, the silence was broken by news from a battery-operated radio, tuned to Radio Kashmir. When that ended, the stories began. The elders would sit on the floor on woollen carpets and narrate larger-than-life tales where the rivers ran wider, the snow lay deeper and the icicles hung longer. Big enough to pull us into their world, never so big that we lost interest."
He concluded by dedicating the achievement to the people who made the journey possible. "In some way, that's what we're trying to do with every film: honour those stories. Long after we are gone, the resilience they showed will live on through the movies we make. None of this would exist without the people who built it with us: our incredible cast and crew, our director, our writers, Jio Studios, and the friends and family who stood by us through it all. This is as much theirs as it is ours."
Article 370 won three National Awards at the 72nd National Film Awards - Best Feature Film, Best Actress for Yami Gautam Dhar and Best Music Director for Shashwat Sachdev, marking a milestone for B62 Studios' debut release and reinforcing the studio's commitment to telling powerful stories steeped in the culture of India.
