'Vazhakku En 18/9' wins special jury award at CIFF

Chennai, Dec 20 (IANS) Tamil teen crime thriller "Vazhakku En 18/9" was adjudged the winner of the special jury award at the 10th Chennai International Film Festival (CIFF) from the 12 Tamil films that competed.

"It's very unlikely to ignore such a wonderful film that explicitly captures the dark side of the mindset of today's youth without making room for obscenity. With all newcomers playing the title roles, it's not easy to make an engaging film," said director A. Sarkunam, who was one of the jury members, at the festival's closing ceremony.

The film, which is directed by Balaji Sakthivel, is about the effects of MMS scandals that play havoc on the lives of youngsters.

The other jury members include veteran Tamil actor Sivakumar and cinematographer B.R Vijayalakshmi.

Drama "Sattai", directed by M. Anbazhagan, was the first runner up, while horror-thriller "Pizza" directed by Karthik Subburaj, was the second runner up.

A special mention award was handed over to Tamil crime-thriller "Mounaguru", directed by Santakumar.

Megastar Amitabh Bachchan gave away the awards to the winners.