Sikkim actress Geetanjali Thapa receives ‘Special Jury Mention’ at prestigious US film festival

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By Nitesh R Pradhan | May 05, 2019

National award winning actor Geetanjali Thapa, who hails from Sikkim, has received a special jury mention for her role in Sonejuhi Sinha's Stray Dolls at the 18th Tribeca Film Festival. The film competed in the US narrative section of this year's Tribeca Film Festival and had its world premiere in New York.

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Amidst global bigwigs of cinema, Geetanjali Thapa was praised for her character portrayal in the film which stood out and thus earned her a Special Jury mention in the Best Actress CategoryFilm Tribereported.

Stary Dolls chronicles the story of Riz, a South Asian immigrant who takes up a job in a motel in order to start over in America. Her journey in the motel and with other employees and guests is what this film all about.

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Geetanjali was called a fine actress for her "always surprising and deeply engaging work" by the jury. The jury consisted of Lucy Alibar, Jonathan Ames, Cory Hardrict, Dana Harris, and Jenny Lumet.

Geetanjali, who starred in Vikramaditya Motwane's Trapped in 2017, also told news agency PTI that the perception about regional actor is changing. "I have faced discrimination. I have been told I can't do this as I don't look Indian enough. People say 'She is a good actor but she doesn't (look) Indian'," she said.

The 30-year-old actress added, "I used to feel sad about it, but now I have developed a thick skin. I laugh it off; it doesn't affect me at all. I am here and doing good work. There are filmmakers, who are willing to cast me and that is great."

Thapa, who won Best Actress National Award for her role in Liar's Dice, also told PTI, "There are certain filmmakers who are willing to change the history or ethnicity or back story of a character to fit me and that is great. Why should I always play a girl from north-east? Maybe, I can play an Indian girl, who is studying in Diu or Mumbai or from Bangalore. I think all this will change but it will take time. I think we have to move forward. Slowly but surely things are changing."

Geetanjali Thapa has delivered many critically acclaimed performances to her credit in Hindi film industry including Biscopewala, Monsoon Shootout and I.D