Birha: Rajit Kapur and Manav Vij’s short film selected for Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards

After winning hearts at various film festivals around the world - including the recently-held New York Indian Film Festival - Punjabi short film Birha: The Journey Back Home, starring Rajit Kapur and Manav Vij, is now gearing up for the upcoming Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards.

Talking about the film, director Puneet Prakash said, “Birha: The Journey Back Home has been made with a lot of heart.” The storyline focuses on how children, who are progressing in their own lives, are also forgetting family values and the sacrifices their parents made to fulfil their dreams. 

Adding to that, the filmmaker said, “The short film is an ode to such families, who are torn apart. We are indeed very proud about the adulation that our film has been garnering.”

The film has already won multiple awards in different international film festivals. It has bagged the ‘Best Film’ award at the Amsterdam International Film Festival, and has been screened at the Hollywood Shorts FEST, Los Angeles Film Awards, New York Indian Film Festival, Calcutta International Cult Film Festival and the Gangtok International Film Festival.

Produced by Ghalib Datta and Navneet Singh Gujral, the film also features Sahil Mehta. 

Speaking about it, the actor said, “I am grateful for all the love and appreciation coming from the prestigious film festivals, critics and our industry people. I tried working on the look, and our director Puneet helped me to understand the headspace of my character, named Inder. He pulled the same out of me. It’s a beautiful story about a father and son.”

The Ottawa Indian Film Festival Awards will commence on June 13 and continue until June 17.