Filmmaker Manikandan said on Tuesday that he had anticipated National Awards for child artistes J Vignesh and Ramesh from his Tamil directorial debut "Kaaka Muttai", which shared the Best Children's Film award with Marathi entertainer "Elizabeth Ekadashi".

"We had expected the child actors to win. They were phenomenal and they truly deserved it," an excited Manikandan told.

He said he was "extremely happy" to share the Best Children's Film award with another good movie.

Jointly produced by actor Dhanush and filmmaker Vetrimaaran, "Kaaka Muttai" is about two brothers living in a slum.

Having already completed a run at international film festivals in Toronto, Rome, Brisbane and Los Angeles, the film is gearing up for release in India in May.

"By next month, we should be done with all the screenings of the film. We are planning to release it in May," he said.

The film also features Ramesh Thilaganathan and Aishwarya Rajesh in the lead roles.