Young Malayalee director Anjali Menon has surprised everybody with the mature handling of the subject in his short movie ‘Happy Journey’ that was a part of the assortment ‘Kerala Café’. Even before that, she had become a known name among the serious film buffs of Kerala, when her movie ‘Manjadikuru’ bagged two prestigious awards in the IFFK held last year. And now the same movie is creating history once again, by winning five awards at the South Asian International Film Festival held in New York.

‘Manjadikuru’ has been awarded for Best Film, Best Direction, Best Script, Best Cinematography and Best Debutante Talent. While Swiss cinematographer Pietro Zuercher won Best Cinematographer award for his work in ‘Manjadikuru’, it was Vyjayanthi, a 14-year-old student from Virudhunagar, Tamil Nadu, who has acted in a key role in ‘Manjadikuru’ to win the award for Best Emerging Talent.

The movie also features Prithviraj, Thilakan, Murali, Raguman, Praveena and Bindu Panicker in important roles.