Hyderabad:
It is a story of caste and love, set in a village before Independence. A 16-year-old girl married off to an elderly Brahmin falls in love with a Dalit boy.
At the 56th National Film Awards, '1940 Lo Oka Gramam' beat 118 Telugu films released in 2008 to win the Best Film (Telugu) Award - for its courageous handling of caste-based prejudices.
Ironically, this is also the reason it hasn't been released commercially - there are no buyers.
"I held over 30 screenings of the film. Each time, the distributors would say the film is extraordinary, but they wouldn't buy it. I was very disappointed," explains director Narasimha Nandi.
"Initially, the subject scared me - both due to the controversial caste aspect and because I had to shave my head. But once I heard the entire story, I knew I couldn't miss this film," recalls Bala Aditya, the film's lead actor who started as a child artiste.
"I wanted to prove myself with a performance-oriented character. It was the best offer I could get," says newcomer Shree, who won the state award for Best Actress for playing the minor bride.
Hopefully, national recognition will bring the film some commercial success too.