Sikkim’s Geetanjali Thapa wins Best Performance award at Los Angeles Film Festival

Sikkim-born Geetanjali Thapa has won the Best Performance in the Narrative Competition for her role in Kamal K.M’s I.D at the recently concluded Los Angeles Film Festival. I.D. was screened in the Los Angeles Film Festival in the section of the International Competition held on June 13-17. Geetanjali Thapa is the first Bollywood lead actress from the small state of Sikkim, and her success story will surely inspire the new generation to dream big.

Geetanjali Thapa, who plays “Charu” in I.D., earlier won the Award for Best Actress at Imagineindia International Film Festival, Madrid. The much-acclaimed film I.D. has won seven awards at film festivals across different countries and is making news.

Speaking exclusively to Shital Pradhan, blogger of the 'Proud to be a Sikkimese' blog, she said, "I feel extremely grateful. It feels good to be appreciated for the hard work one has put in. I have been meeting filmmakers and reading scripts. I did three films after I.D., including Monsoon Shootout by Amit Kumar, Liar's Dice by Geetu Mohandas, and White Lies by Danis Tanovic.

I am looking forward to their release. Wonderful films are being made; I mostly do independent, meaningful films, and I am happy to be part of Indian cinema, added Thapa.

When asked about the similarity of Charu's character to her real life, she said, "I could relate to Charu because I am a displaced person myself. I, too, came to Bombay looking for a job, and I, too, lead a similar life. We share the sense of displacement, having found ourselves in a city of strangers, trying to grapple with the chaos and finding our feet simultaneously.”

The Los Angeles Film Festival jury bestowed Geetanjali Thapa with the Best Performance Award, stating: “The Narrative Competition Jury gives an award for Best Actor to the very talented Geetanjali Thapa for her portrayal of Chara in Kamal K.M.'s I.D. Thapa's performance is partially recognized for her ability to win over the audience's empathy for a character that initially lacks, indeed even resists, empathy. Rarely conversational, her ability to speak volumes with gesture and silence is a revelation to the audience.

With an onscreen presence that commands attention, we see her rising star as something that excites us as filmmakers, and we are privileged to witness the start of Thapa’s very promising career.”