Two Indian films returned with prizes at the Toronto International Film Festival which wrapped up on Sunday night. Vasan Bala's Mard Ko Dard Nahi Hota, marking the debut of Bhagyashree's son Abhimanyu Dassani and co-starring Radhika Madan (Pataakha) and Gulshan Devaiah (Hunterrr), won the Grolsch People's Choice Midnight Madness section award.

Bala's action comedy, the first Indian film to be featured in the festival's Midnight Madness section, beat David Gordon Green's highly anticipated sequel to the 1978 cult horror flick, Halloween, and Sam Levinson's Assassination Nation to nab the popular award.

On the festival site, Peter Kuplowsky called the film an "exceedingly eccentric crowd-pleaser" in which "Vasan Bala wittily applies the axiom literally, concocting the outrageous story of a young man born without pain receptors who longs to defeat 100 opponents in a kumite tournament".

Kuplowsky concluded that the film " is an action-packed ode to a generation raised on the punches of Bruce Lee, the kicks of Jackie Chan, and the dance moves of Chiranjeevi". Ronnie Screwvala's RSVP Pictures is expected to release the film in October this year.

There was more reason to celebrate as UK-based Indian filmmaker Sandhya Suri's debut short The Field won the best short film prize which includes a cash prize of $10,000. On Suri's film, the jury remarked, "The film is striking for its aesthetic lyricism, tender performances, and powerful emotional impact. It's a unique and refreshing glimpse into female desire set in rural India that demonstrated a scope greater than its short format."

The 19-minute Hindi short centres on Lalla, a poor agricultural labourer, preparing for the harvest of its remaining cornfield.