‘Kawalaa (The Crow)’ Wins Best Film as International Cinema Festival 2026 Concludes in Mandi
Bhaand Secures Second Place and Adamya Third; Excellence Honoured Across Direction, Writing, Acting and Technical Categories.
Shimla:
The Shakh Mandi Mahotsav International Cinema Festival 2026 concluded successfully at Paddal Ground, Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, bringing together an impressive collection of independent films, documentaries and emerging cinematic voices from across the country.
Organised as part of the Shakh Mandi Mahotsav 2026, the four-day festival, held from October 3 to 6, offered audiences a diverse and engaging selection of films exploring social realities, human relationships, traditions, struggles, emotions and contemporary issues.
The festival culminated with the announcement of awards recognising outstanding achievements in filmmaking and various creative and technical disciplines. ‘Kawalaa (The Crow)’ emerged as the Best Film, while ‘Bhaand’ secured second place and ‘Adamya’ was placed third.
The awards recognised talent across a wide range of categories, including direction, writing, acting, child acting, cinematography and editing, underlining the festival’s commitment to celebrating excellence in independent cinema.
Kawalaa Takes Top Honours
Directed by Harshvardhan Rajendra Jadhav, Kawalaa (The Crow) received the festival’s top honour. The film also dominated several individual categories.
Jadhav won Best Director, while Sopan Purandare secured second place in cinematography for the film. Sheetal Raut, who portrayed Ai, was the first runner-up in the Best Actress category, while eight-year-old Aryan Raundal, who played Ganya, won Best Child Artist.
The film’s story revolves around eight-year-old Ganu, who lives with his mother and grandmother in a conservative village. During her menstrual cycle, his mother isolates herself in accordance with traditional beliefs and tells Ganu that she has been “bitten by a crow.”
Unable to understand what this means, Ganu begins a curious journey through local beliefs, folktales and stories associated with the mysterious bird. When he finally encounters a crow, he returns home and, rather than asking questions, imitates his mother’s isolation.
Through the innocent perspective of a child, the film examines how traditions are passed from one generation to another and how social beliefs can influence young minds.
Bhaand Wins Multiple Major Honours
Bhaand, which secured second place for Best Film, also made a strong impact across the acting and writing categories.
Arunabh Mukherjee won Best Writer for the film and secured second place in the Best Director category. Prosenjit Kundu, who played Kanai, won Best Actor, while Debdatta Chatterjee, who portrayed Bini, received Best Actress honours.
Sanchit Chakraborty, who played Phulwa, finished second in the Best Child Artist category.
The film tells the story of a versatile traditional performer whose ability to transform himself through different characters once earned him a livelihood. However, changing times have left his art without recognition, pushing his family towards severe financial hardship.
At a critical point, he faces the heartbreaking possibility of selling his own daughter. A remembered promise that someone in the city would value his artistic talent and offer him a better livelihood gives him hope and prevents him from taking the desperate step.
At its heart, Bhaand delivers a powerful message about compassion, human solidarity and the responsibility to extend a helping hand to those facing helplessness.
Adamya Secures Third Position
Adamya finished third in the Best Film category. Directed by Krishna DK, the film explores the continuing relevance and importance of Lokokala—folk art—as a source of cultural wisdom and human values.
The film presents folk art as an enduring beacon that can guide people towards the right path, nurture compassion and humanity, and inspire courage in the face of injustice and oppression. Its central message underlines that the significance of folk traditions remains relevant even in contemporary society.
Strong Showing Across Categories
The festival’s award list reflected the breadth of talent participating in the event.
In the Best Director category, Harshvardhan Rajendra Jadhav of Kawalaa (The Crow) stood first, followed by Arunabh Mukherjee of Bhaand and Yojit Soni of The Forbidden Card.
For Best Writer, Arunabh Mukherjee of Bhaand won first place, Harshvardhan Jadhav of Kawalaa (The Crow) was second and Haider Ali of M, B, A was third.
In Best Actor, Prosenjit Kundu of Bhaand took the top position, followed by Ravi Karnwal of Chappal and Kaushik Sawul, who played Kedar in Tanuj.
The Best Actress award went to Debdatta Chatterjee of Bhaand, with Sheetal Raut of Kawalaa (The Crow) second and Anushree Shukla of Trapido third.
The Best Child Artist award went to Aryan Raundal of Kawalaa (The Crow). Sanchit Chakraborty of Bhaand was second, Vatsal Rathore of Alarm Ghadi third, while Vishwambhara Vidya of Munia received fourth place.
In Best Cinematography, Vishal Goswami and Aman Gupta of The Forbidden Card won first place. Sopan Purandare of Kawalaa (The Crow) was second and Shrey Joshi of Trapido third.
Best Editing was awarded to Naveen Jave for Majra. Shrey Joshi of Trapido secured second place, while Prahant Kadam (PK) of Jawabon Ka Safar came third.
The jury also gave a Special Jury Mention to Chappal, while Ek Sakht Goonthi Hui Choti and Tanuj were recognised as specially mentioned short films.
Documentary Cinema Also Receives Recognition
The documentary category saw an especially strong showing by Jail Second Chance, which won the Best Documentary Film award.
The film’s team received several major honours, with Harshit Mishra winning Best Director, Niwan Prachurya taking Best Cinematographer and Tarun Aerial winning Best Editor.
Raw Frames by Suraj Negi was also recognised as a Specially Mentioned Documentary.
11 Films Screened on the Concluding Day
The concluding day featured a diverse selection of 11 films, showcasing different cinematic languages, subjects, emotions and storytelling approaches. The films screened included Chappal, Jawabon Ka Safar, Echoes of Silence, Lakh Ki Chudiyan, Joker, Silence, Crossings, Alapviram, Adamya, Tanuj and Kawalaa.
The screenings provided filmmakers with an opportunity to connect directly with audiences while presenting stories that engage with social issues, human emotions, relationships, silence, struggle and contemporary realities. The response from audiences was encouraging and reinforced the festival’s objective of promoting meaningful independent cinema.
Distinguished Guests and Jury
The festival was honoured by the presence of distinguished Guests of Honour, including Ms. Indrani Pandhi, Shri Praveen Sharma “Pinnu”, renowned actor Paritosh Sand and Sapna Sand.
The festival was conducted under the leadership of Festival Director Raam Pal Malik, with President Pushpraj “Pushpi”, along with Rajesh Kumar and members Sanjay Soni, Roop Upadhyay and Rajit Singh Kanwar, contributing to its successful organisation.
The films were evaluated by an esteemed jury comprising Ashok Mehra, Sanjeev Rattan and Ritesh Mehta, whose experience and understanding of cinema guided the evaluation process.
The successful conclusion of the four-day International Cinema Festival added an important cultural and artistic dimension to the Shakh Mandi Mahotsav 2026. With films representing diverse languages, themes and cinematic approaches, the festival provided a meaningful platform for independent filmmakers and strengthened Mandi’s emerging identity as a destination for cultural and artistic events.
The organisers expressed their gratitude to all the filmmakers, jury members, guests, artists, volunteers, media representatives and audiences whose participation and support contributed to making the festival a memorable celebration of cinema.
