Hindi
Chinese film from Taiwan gets best film at 38th IFFI
MUMBAI: The Chinese film The Wall from Taiwan by director Lin Chih Ju, a sensitive story about a man locked up behind four walls unaware of the changes taking place around him, won the Golden Peaock for best film at the 38th International Film Festival of India which concluded here this evening.
The international jury headed by renowned Hungarian filmmaker Marta Meszaros selected Thai director Pongpat Wachirabunjong to receive the Silver Peacock as the most promising director for his film Me Myself.
The Special Jury award was shared by two films: director Golam Rabanny Biplab for the story of the Bangladeshi film – Swopnodanay (On the Wings of Dreams) and the child artist (Miss) Julia Urbini for her Performance in the Mexican film – Mas Que A Nada En El Mundo (More than Anything in the World) directed by Andres Leon Becker and Javier Solar.
While the recipient of the best film award gets a cash prize of Rs one million and Silver Peacock recipient gets Rs 500,000, both the Special Jury awardees get Silver Peacock and Rs 2,50,000 each.
While one jury member Meltem Cumbul who is an actress in Turkey had to leave, the other members of the jury Argentinean filmmaker Pablo Cesar, India’s Shaji N Karun, and New Zealand’s Robert Sarkies were present along with Ms Meszaros.
The awards were given away by Goa Governor S C Jamir, Chief Minister Digambar Kamat, Panaji Mayor Tony Rodrigues, and the chief guest, filmmaker Buddhadeb Dasgupta.
Speaking at the short function which concluded with the screening of Carlos Saura’s Portuguese film Fardos, Dasgupta wanted more selectors of foreign film festivals and international critics to come to India for the festivals.
The Chief Minister reiterated that there was now no apprehension that Goa was the permanent venue for the international film festival.
Others who spoke at the function were Information and Broadcasting Ministry Joint Secretary (films) V B Pyarelal and Festival Director Neelam Kapur.
The festival had commenced on 23 November and a total of 176 films from 46 countries including 59 from India were screened. There were two Indian films in the competition section which had 14 films from 13 countries.
In the citation for the best film, the jury described it as ‘a finely crafted film about dreams, hope, betrayal and love that depicts ordinary people coping in politically challenging times. The film is highly cinematic, affecting and makes the political personal. The filmmaker has created a complete world within the four walls of a simple house. We hope the world sees this beautiful film.’
The Thai film was described as a ‘film about whether we have the freedom to choose our own life. It depicts a story of hope for a world without discrimination while recognising the difficulties of coping with being different. Debut director Pongpat Wachirabunjong has made a deeply affecting film that expresses something of the essence of the human spirit. We look forward to seeing many more films from this talented new director.’
The Bangladeshi film – Swopnodanay (On the Wings of Dreams) was given the jury award for weaving a ‘simple realist story about a poor man who has the chance to dream of another life but discovers the things he already has are more important than the dream. This classic story has been told simply without western influence and resonates a truth about life for millions of people around the world’. The child artist Julia got the award ‘for giving an enchanting, nuanced performance that helps make this film special. Her remarkable performance allows us to engage with the child’s imagination, her anguish, her fears and ultimately her love for her mother.’
In a music industry that often rewards speed, spectacle, and instant recall, Navjot Ahuja’s journey feels refreshingly different. His story is not built on noise. It is built on patience, discipline, emotional honesty, and a quiet commitment to becoming better with every passing year. After 14 years of struggle, learning, performing, and writing, Navjot stands today as an artist whose success has not changed his centre. If anything, it has only made his purpose clearer.
For Navjot, music has never been about chasing fame alone. It has always been about expression. It is about writing more truthfully, singing more skillfully, understanding himself more deeply, and becoming a kinder human being in the process. That rare clarity is what gives his journey its beauty.
Where It All Began: A Writer Before a Singer
Indian singer and songwriter Navjot Ahuja’s musical journey began in the most familiar of places: school assemblies. But even then, what was growing inside him was not only the desire to sing. It was the need to write.
Long before he saw himself as a performer, he had already discovered the emotional release that writing offered him. For Navjot, words became the first true channel for feeling. Songwriting came before singing because writing was the only way he could let emotions flow through him fully. That inner pull shaped his artistic identity early on.
Like many young musicians, he sharpened his craft by creating renditions of popular songs.
Those experiments became his training ground. But the turning point came in 2012, when he wrote his first original song. That moment did not just mark the beginning of songwriting. It marked the beginning of self-definition.
A Calling He Did Not Chase, But Accepted
What makes the latest Indian singer-songwriter Navjot’s story especially compelling is the way he describes his relationship with music. He does not frame it as a career he aggressively pursued. In his own understanding, music was not something he chose. It was something that chose him.
There was a time when he imagined a very different future for himself. He wanted to become a successful engineer, like many young people shaped by ambition and conventional expectations. But life had a different script waiting for him. During his college years, around 2021, music entered his life professionally and began taking a firmer shape.
That shift was not driven by image-building or industry ambition. It came from acceptance. Navjot embraced the fact that music had claimed him in a way no other path could. That sense of surrender continues to define the artist he is today.
An Artist Guided by Instinct, Not Influence
Unlike many singers who speak openly about idols, icons, and musical role models, Navjot’s creative world is built differently. He does not believe his music comes from imitation or inherited influence. He listens inward.
He has never considered himself shaped by ideals in the traditional sense. In fact, he admits that he does not particularly enjoy listening to songs, especially his own. His decisions as a songwriter and singer come from instinct. He writes what feels right. He trusts what his inner voice tells him. He positions his music according to what he honestly believes in, not what trends demand.
That creative independence gives his work a distinct emotional sincerity. His songs do not feel calculated. They feel alive.
The Long Years of Invisible Struggle
Every artist carries a chapter of struggle, and Navjot’s was long, demanding, and deeply formative. One of the biggest challenges he faced was building continuity as the best new indian singer songwriter in an era where musical collaboration is increasingly fluid.
For emerging singers, especially those trying to build with a band, consistency can be difficult. Instrumentalists today have more opportunities than ever to freelance and perform with multiple artists. While that growth is positive and well deserved, it can make things harder for singers who are still trying to establish a steady team and sound around their work.
For Navjot, one of the most difficult phases came during 2021 and 2022, when he was doing club shows almost every day. It was a period of relentless performance, but not always personal fulfillment. He was largely singing covers because clubs were not open to original songs that audiences did not yet know.
For a new Indian singer and songwriter, that can be a painful compromise. To perform constantly and still not have the freedom to share your own voice requires not just resilience, but restraint.
“Khat” and the Grace of Staying Unchanged
After 14 years of effort, Navjot’s new love song Khat became a defining milestone. Professionally, he acknowledges that the song changed how society viewed him as a musician. It strengthened his place in the public eye and altered his standing in meaningful ways.
Yet personally, he remains unchanged.
That is perhaps the most striking part of his story. Navjot says his routine is still the same. His calm is still the same. His writing process is still the same. He does not want success or failure to interfere with the purity of his art. For him, emotional detachment from public outcomes is essential because the moment an artist becomes too attached to validation, the writing begins to shift.
His joy comes not from numbers, but from the attempt. If he has tried to improve his skill today, if he has written his heart out more honestly than before, then he is at peace.
Growth, Not Glory, Remains the Real Goal
Even now, Navjot is not consumed by labels such as singles artist, performer, or digital success story. His focus remains deeply personal. He wants to sing better. He wants to play instruments better. He wants to understand himself more. And he wants to become a kinder person.
That is what makes Navjot Ahuja’s journey so moving. It is not simply the story of a musician finding recognition. It is the story of an artist who continues to grow inward, even as the world begins to look outward at him. In an age obsessed with applause, Navjot reminds us that the most meaningful success often begins in silence, honesty, and the courage to remain true to oneself.
