Vivek Dubey on Funral winning a National Award: It’s like having the news of a baby

From being a creative in various advertising agencies, directing ad films to winning a National Award, it’s been quite a journey for filmmaker Vivek Dubey. His debut feature film Funral won the Best Feature Film on Social Issues at the 68th National Film Awards. “It’s a different feeling,” Dubey exclaims, adding, “You are in your house, casually looking at the results, and then your film’s name is announced It’s like Dhoni hitting a six for the world cup I cannot express it in words.”

Dubey left his agency job in 2016 and has been directing ads since then. However, in 2020, he made the Marathi film that got him the biggest honour of his career till date. “This was something special. I still can’t believe it. This is my first, and it’ll stay with me for a lifetime. It’s like having the news of a baby! I was so surprised. Even when the result was announced, I cross-checked it. I was overwhelmed. I feel proud of it,” Dubey further shares about his prestigious win.

The filmmaker was certain that people were liking his film, given all the accolades it received in India as well as abroad in the film festival circuits. “So, we thought of trying the National Awards. We said, ‘What’s the harm?’ So there was hope and it materialised. You know while filming we go through a lot of negative emotions, along with all the joy. But with a win like this, you forget everything,” he ends.