/> It's considered the kernel of the crème de la crème from world cinema.

The Madrid International Film Festival which concluded last week, threw forward a big surprise when our own monstrously talented but neglected Lilette Dubey walked away with the best actress award for her performance in Pritish Nandy's Bow Barracks Forever, last year's neglected gem on the much-neglected anglo-Indian community in Kolkata.

Lilette who was last seen playing a Mira Nair-modelled filmmaker in My Name Is Anthony Gonsalves is delighted by the turn of events.

"I was about to go on stage with my friend Mahesh Dattani's play when I got call from the film's director Anjan Dutta. He tried to explain to me over the din that I had been honoured at Madrid. I couldn't follow a word. I was wondering why he Anjan was talking to me about madrasas...."

Lilette's performance as the hyper-strung anglo-Indian woman in Bow Barracks Forever has been compared with Jennifer Kapoor's performance in Aparna Sen's 36 Chowringhee Lane.

"I'm honoured, specially because I was nominated alongside one of my favourite actresses Joan Allen. Also, the award comes from Spain and I'm a fan of Spanish cinema.

I've reached an age and stage in my career where I've lost all vanity about my looks and just need to find the right characters to play."

Back home Lilette is doing an assortment of films. "I play Tabu's mother in Ravi Chopra's Banda Yeh Bindaas Hai which was so much fun because I got to share screen space with Govinda.

Likewise I went to the US and did a diaspora film Bollywood Beats with a very good-looking 27 year old director Mehul Shah. I got to co-star with another favourite Sarita Joshi. The veteran Gujarati actress was a barel-ful of fun.

In fact I'm getting to work with such lovely actors. In In God We Trust To Hell With Humans directed by Harsh Prasad I've Naseerbhai, Pankaj Kapoor and Deepti Naval as co-stars. I'm also doing a film with Ram Gopal Varma called Phoonk."