MUMBAI: Bagging three top awards including the coveted Golden Bear, Iranian film Nader and Simin, a Separation, directed by Asghar Farhadi, emerged as the most successful film At the 61st Berlin International Film Festival.
The seven-member international jury, which included actor-director-producer Aamir Khan, also honoured the leading male and female lead of the film by awarding them the Silver Bears for the best actor and the best actress.
"I never thought that I will get this prize," Farhadi said after receiving the Golden Bear from the jury president Isabella Rossellini and festival director Dieter Kosslick.
Farhadi had received the Silver Bear for the best director for his portrayal of the Iranian society in his last feature film ‘About Elly‘ at the festival two years ago.
Nader and Simin, a Separation is based on a middle-class couple‘s divorce on the grounds that the wife Simin wants to move abroad to find a better future for their 11-year-old daughter Termeh (Sarina Farhadi), but her husband refuses because he wants to look after his sick father.
The Iranian competition entry was widely expected to win one of the main awards of the Berlinale, but its capture of three top positions surprised many festival participants.
Aamir Khan presented the Silver Bear for the best director that was shared by Peyman Moadi, Shahab Hosseini and Sareh Bayat.