Actress Sushma Deshpande wins applauds at international film festival for child rape drama ‘Ajji’

Helmed by Devashish Makhija, child rape drama film Ajji won actress Sushma Deshpande a special jury mention for her performance at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA). She also won The Flame Award at the UK Asian Film Festival along with the Fresh Blood competition at the Beaune International Thriller Film Festival 2018. 

Produced by Yoodlee Films, Ajji tells the story of a 65-year-old arthritic grandmother who decides to take revenge from the society when it fails to provide justice for the rape of her nine-year-old granddaughter. 

Speaking about the film, Siddharth Anand Kumar, head of Yoodlee Films said, “We are proud that Ajji is finding such a warm reception from worldwide audiences at film festivals. When you take a risk on making a strong film without compromise and receive such appreciation you are encouraged to be even more fearless in your choice of cinema.”

On his film getting international recognition, Devashish said, “A niche genre film like Ajji gets most of its traction and strength from film festival programmers, organisers, critics and audiences without whom such a film might never have been made even. The awards we have won tell us that we can keep making these films. To be able to keep doing this itself then is the biggest award.”

A dark take on the classic fairy tale ‘Red Riding Hood’, the film was also the official selection at the 2017 Busan International Film Festival (BIFF) and was showcased in the New Currents section of the 22nd Korean film extravaganza apart from being nominated for the Oxfam Best Film on Gender Equality Award category at the Jio MAMI 19th Mumbai Film Festival with Star 2017.