Adarsh Gourav bags Rising Star Award at Asian World Film Festival for The White Tiger

Weeks after being nominated for the Film Independent Spirit Award for Best Male Lead as well as the BAFTA Award for Best Actor in a Leading Role, Adarsh Gourav has bagged an international award for his performance in The White Tiger. The 26-year-old actor has been conferred the Rising Star Award at the recently concluded Asian World Film Festival (AWFF).

Gourav now joins the likes of Justin Chon, Awkwafina and Sareum Srey Moch, who are the past recipients of this award.

An emotional Gourav said, “I just got the news and I’m stoked to know the AWFF and the jury found my work to be the one they found worthy enough to be given this award. I’m grateful for this and I’m elated that the esteemed jury has given me The Rising Star Award. It’s been a whirlwind of emotions for me since the release and to find any appreciation coming my way has been humbling. I’m grateful that I was given this opportunity to work on this film and embody this incredible role of a lifetime.”

Owing to the novel coronavirus pandemic, the festival took place virtually, and its jury members comprised Oscar-nominated producer Gil Netter (Life of Pi, The Blind Side), Oscar-winning screenwriter David Seidler (The King’s Speech), award-winning director Jean-Marc Vallée (Dallas Buyers Club, Big Little Lies), director Lulu Wang, actress Lucy Liu and director Tabrez Noorani.

Adapted from Aravind Adiga’s book of the same name, The White Tiger also stars Priyanka Chopra and Rajkummar Rao.

The film's writer and director, Ramin Bahrani, has been nominated for the Academy Award for Best Adapted Screenplay.