His documentaries in Telugu "The Carnival" (1984), "The City" (1985), "Akruti- Rock formations" (1989) have received special mention awards at the International Documentary Film Festival Amsterdam, and were screened at the Rice University. Akruti received the National Film Award – Special Jury Award (non-feature film) "For experimentation with forms of boulders of various shapes and textures, brilliantly visualized by Apurba Kishore Bir with the evocative music of Pandit Hari Prasad Chaurasia." as cited by the jury. In 2003, he directed "Hari Villu" screened at the 56th Cannes.