Akhil P Dharmajan wins Yuva Puraskar
Kochi: Writer Akhil P Dharmajan won Kendra Sahitya Akademi's Yuva Puraskar, the annual literary award for young Indian writers, for his novel 'Ram C/O Anandhi' on Wednesday.
The Yuva Puraskar of Sahitya Akademi (National Academy of Letters) recognises outstanding works in 24 major Indian languages and is given to writers under the age of 35.
The award includes a cash prize of Rs 50,000 and a copper plaque.
Dharmajan expressed happiness over the selection of his novel for the award through his social media post. "I don't know how to express my happiness! Ever since I found out, my hands and feet were trembling. To every person who brought me here, my heartfelt gratitude," his Facebook post said.
The novel, which was first published in 2020, tells the story of Ram, an aspiring filmmaker who moves from Alleppey to Chennai to chase his dreams and ends up encountering a vibrant cast of characters — most notably Anandhi, the receptionist at his film school and Malli, a transgender woman whose struggles add emotional depth to the narrative.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
16 minutes ago
- Time of India
Housefull 5 box office collection Day 13: Akshay Kumar starrer hits Rs 165 crore mark
Akshay Kumar and Abhishek Bachchan 's comedy entertainer 'Housefull 5' continues its successful run at the box office, hitting a new milestone on Day 13. Housefull 5 Movie Review According to early estimates, the film earned approximately Rs3 crore (India net) across all languages on its thirteenth day, bringing its total domestic collection to an impressive Rs 165.25 crore. The film, which had a stellar start, crossed the Rs 100 crore mark within just four days of its release—one of the fastest to do so this year. By the end of its first week, Housefull 5 had amassed an estimated Rs 127.25 crore. It maintained momentum in its second week, collecting Rs 3.75 crore on Monday and Rs 4.25 crore on Tuesday. On Wednesday, June 18, the film recorded an overall Hindi occupancy of 9.16%, showing consistent audience interest despite new competition. While Housefull 5 has successfully fended off recent Hollywood releases such as Ballerina, How To Train Your Dragon, and Materialists, it is now gearing up for a major box office clash. Aamir Khan 's Sitaare Zameen Par is set to hit theatres on June 20, and industry watchers are keen to see how this highly anticipated emotional drama will impact Housefull 5's continued run. However, according to early predictions, the Aamir Khan movie is expected to rake in just around Rs 3-4 crore, according to advance ticket bookings. Directed by Tarun Mansukhani and backed by Sajid Nadiadwala, Housefull 5 brings together an ensemble cast and continues the popular comedy franchise with a mix of humour, nostalgia, and star power.
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Sitaare Zameen Par advance box office report Day 1: Aamir Khan starrer headed for Rs 3.61 crore opening
's return to the big screen with 'Sitaare Zameen Par' is already making waves, as the emotional drama shows encouraging figures ahead of its release on June 20. According to early estimates from industry tracker the film has earned approximately Rs 99.74 lakh in advance bookings for its opening day, with over 38,770 tickets sold across 6,128 shows nationwide. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The Hindi version dominates the pre-release buzz, contributing the lion's share of the revenue — about Rs 90.64 lakh — from 5,764 shows and 29,689 ticket sales. The Tamil version follows with a modest Rs 1.22 lakh from 88 shows and 973 tickets, while the Telugu version recorded Rs 7.87 lakh from 276 shows. The film, which blends inspiration with emotion, is projected to rake in around Rs 3.61 crore when blocked seats are accounted for. Regionally, Delhi has emerged as the top-performing state, clocking an advance booking collection of Rs 24.09 lakh. Maharashtra follows with Rs 15.73 lakh, and Telangana rounds out the top three with Rs 12.47 lakh. Directed by R.S. Prasanna and produced under the Aamir Khan Productions banner, Sitaare Zameen Par stars Aamir Khan and in lead roles. The film also introduces 10 debutants — Aroush Datta, Varma, Samvit Desai, Vedant Sharma, Ayush Bhansali, Ashish Pendse, Rishi Shahani, Rishabh Jain, Naman Mishra, and Simran Mangeshkar — promising a fresh wave of young talent. With strong themes and early traction at the box office, Sitaare Zameen Par appears poised for a solid opening. The film, on Tuesday, received its certification from the CBFC. This announcement came after reports claimed that the release of the film would be stalled over certification issues. Unconfirmed reports even claimed that Khan's objections to making some cuts in the film, was a possible reason for the delay. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now According to the videos from a special screening of the film, while some thought the movie was 'deeply moving' with its sensitive portrayal of children with special needs, others were confident that the movie would "perceptions towards Down syndrome and autistic people.'
New Indian Express
an hour ago
- New Indian Express
Clicking Outside a Clique: A look at Cop Shiva's new exhibit in Bengaluru
Sugriva drives a scooter with Hanuman riding pillion, almost falling off, as rishis look on impassively; a grey-haired, saree-clad woman knocks out a fit boxer in a vibrant forest with only a tiger and a deer for an audience, and two characters who look like they've stepped out of an old mythological film, bedecked in jewellery, take a selfie as tourists in a city. These playful self-portraits of cop-turned-photographer BS Shivaraju, known as Cop Shiva, and his mother Gowramma, are one of 133 on display at Gallery Sumukha as part of the artist's newest exhibition 'No Longer a Memory' curated by Joshua Muyiwa. Photos from this ongoing project have previously won the public vote prize at the 23rd Asian Art Prize ceremony in 2023. This series of photographs, seven years in the making, was born from Shiva's desire for something most take for granted, but he never had because of the difficult financial circumstances he grew up in – family photographs. 'In recent years, whenever I visited friends' houses, they would show me photographs from family albums. People have many fond memories as photographs but my mother and I didn't have a single photograph together. So I thought, since I'm now an artist and photographer, let's create work with my memories,' explains Shiva who, while working as a policeman, honed his skills by learning from artists at 1ShanthiRoad gallery, eventually quitting his job to become a full-time photographer. Among his childhood memories, the ones that stood out most to Shiva were moments of play with his mother – dressing up and enacting mythological characters – inspired by Shiva's grandfather, who was a theatre artiste in their village. 'He used to play small roles in mythological plays and dramas happening throughout the night and he would take me along to watch him – these things were visually in my head. In the morning, I'd wake up and with all the things I saw, play with my mom. I think we have both got my grandfather's blood in us,' he laughs. With this exhibit, these moments of childhood whimsy are 'no longer a memory', transporting the viewer into studio-style photographs that hold the memories of decades past with the brightly painted gallery walls and the colourful retro backgrounds on display, aiding in this immersion. 'I wanted to make it so that when you enter, you go back to your memory to the studio with your parents and grandparents, in the old photograph in your home,' explains Shiva, adding, 'With my generation, all family photos used to be in the studio and I'm a huge fan of this old Indian studio photography. So I used lots of old studio backdrops, and mythological theatre backdrops, commissioned some, and also used some beautiful contemporary fabrics. I travelled looking around some old studios in northern Karnataka for these because they are all gradually vanishing.' While Cop Shiva's work has always focussed on unique people embodying characters, perhaps influenced by his early fascination with the theatrical, with previous projects focusing on a Gandhi impersonator and another who dresses up as Tamil actor MG Ramachandran; his experimentation with self-portraiture is a departure from this. He says, 'There are so many things I learned with these two projects and that was like a workshop for me – I got the confidence to place myself as my subject.' And what better way to do it than with his mom, who, Shiva has been hearing from visitors is 'more confident and photogenic' than him. 'She, and that generation of women, had not gotten the opportunity to explore and play – after 60 years, she got to explore her acting skill. She loved to pose, and I think she is better than me in all the pictures,' he laughs. (No Longer A Memory is open to visitors at Gallery Sumukha, Wilson Garden, until June 28)
