'Aligarh' lauded at Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles

Mumbai: Filmmaker Hansal Mehta is elated that his directorial got a special mention at the Indian Film Festival of Los Angeles (IFFLA) from a jury that had "exceptional" movies to pick from.

Mehta also mentioned that he "loves" his team.

"Special Mention for Aligarh IFFLA from a jury who had many exceptional films to choose from. Love you my team," Mehta tweeted on Monday.

"Aligarh" is based on the real life incident of Srinivas Ramchandra Siras, an academician essayed by Manoj Bajpayee, at the Aligarh Muslim University who was suspended from his job because of his sexual orientation.

The film also stars actor Rajkummar Rao playing the role of a journalist.

A tweet from the official page of IFFLA read that director Neeraj Ghaywan's film "Masaan" too got a special mention at the event.

"'Masaan and 'Aligarh' get special mentions from IFFLA 2016 jury," the official page read.

"Masaan" revolves around four lives that intersect along the Ganga: A low caste boy in love, a daughter ridden with guilt of a sexual encounter ending in a tragedy, a helpless father with fading morality, and a spirited child yearning for a family -- all with a common longing to escape the moral constructs of a small town.