Hard work is the only way to success: Best actress awardee

Special Correspondent NEW DELHI, OCTOBER 20 Winner of the best actress award at the 61st National Film Awards Geetanjali Thapa in her message to the youth of the region said there are no shortcuts to success. Hard work is the only way to achieve success, the talented and beautiful actor from Sikkim said. She added star power and celebrity presence to the Young Leaders Connect (YLC), a conclave of young leaders and achievers that brainstorms on the issues pertaining to the north eastern region, is considered as a crucial and influential think tank. She was “in conversation” with Abu Metha, founding Editor of Eastern Mirror and president of XL Foundation, who is also a panel speaker of the YLC. The interactive session was like an icebreaker in what was a day packed with sessions on serious and burning issues. Geetanjali also won best performance and best actress at the Indian Film Festivals of Los Angeles in the United States and Madrid in Spain for her film ID. She bagged the best actress award at the New York Indian Film Festival and topped it up with the best actress award at the 61st National Film Awards for her role as Kamala in Liar’s Dice. To add to that, Liar’s Dice is heading to the Oscars as Indian’s nominee in the best foreign film category. Geetanjali was a ramp model before taking up acting and has made it to the top of the profession without any formal training. Therefore her talent and caliber is without question. On being asked if she faced any extra challenges and hurdles since she was from the Northeast and had a northern eastern profile, she said she really did not face any serious discrimination and reemphasized that hard work and perseverance were the predominant requirements for success. She, however, did regret that the north eastern region was not a commercially important for the film industry as the audiences were small and the region has a negligible number of movie halls and screens. She hoped that the governments and private players would invest in setting up movie halls and theatres so that the people of the region could watch and witness cinema as entertainment and also appreciate it for its art and creativity. Geetanjali further observed that a number of quality films, documentaries and works were being produced in the Northeast and by northeastern filmmakers, but regretted that audiences in the region were not getting the opportunity to watch such works. Legendary footballer Baichung Bhutia, who is the Chair of this year’s conclave, participating from the audience, stated that it was a matter of deep regret that the biopic Mary Kom which was creating waves at national and international arenas still cannot be witnessed by people of the region, especially her home state of Manipur. The session was more interactive as Metha opened up the conversation to the house and cross sections of the people especially the youth and students who got a rare opportunity to interact with an iconic person whose time is more than precious. The conversation ended with Metha wishing Geetanjali the best in her career and informed her that she carries the best wishes and prayers of the entire region. He hoped that she would continue to bring joy and pride to the region and the entire country in the months and years to come. “Be brave … the entire region is with you…” Metha told her.