Transwoman actor Riya Isha accused the Kerala State Film Awards jury of ignoring the films of the transgender community.
Criticism against Kerala State Film Awards. (Supplied)
Controversies and criticisms aren’t new for film award ceremonies.
Even after several years, the infamous fainting episode of late actor Kalabhavan Mani when he didn’t receive the best actor award for his performance in Vasanthiyum Lakshmiyum Pinne Njanum (1999) is still alive in the minds of movie buffs.
In the latest, the jury of the 53rd Kerala State Film Awards — announced on 21 July — is facing sharp criticism from audiences and industry folks for not picking the best.
The jury this year was headed by eminent Bengali filmmaker-actor Gautam Ghosh.
Mammootty grabbed the best actor award. (Supplied)
This time, Mammootty bagged the Best Actor Award for his performance as James and Sundaram in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam (2022).
While the Malayalam Superstar received the Kerala State Award for the eighth time, the jury is being criticised for giving the award to the veteran actor for Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam instead of Rorschach (2022) or Puzhu (2022) which were also nominated.
A few people, on social media, opined that Mammootty’s performance in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam was pretty similar to the one in Loudspeaker (2009) and asked why present an award for a mediocre show.
Though there aren’t many takers for this comment, questions arose about why Rorschach and Puzhu weren’t considered for the award.
According to the jury, Mammootty was stunning in Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam where he effortlessly slipped into the duality of two distinctive characters.
The jury members believed that the veteran actor got into the psyche of a Malayalee (James) and a Tamilian villager (Sundaram) and also absorb the diverse language and ethnicity of the two States with precision.
Devi Varma with producer and director of ‘Saudi Vellaka’. (Supplied)
Another difference of opinion cropped up in the case of the best female actor in a character role.
The award was grabbed by Devi Varma for her role as Ayisha in Saudi Vellakka (2022).
Devi Varma appeared as the aged mother who had to deal with an unexpected legal case. The jury was impressed by the way she expressed her inner feelings while moving forward with her case in court.
However, social media discussions hinted that Bindu Panicker’s performance as the cruel and loving mother in Rorschach deserved the award for best actress in a character role.
Her performance in Rorschach is a refreshing change from her previous roles where she has been typecast as a comedy actor, the netizens felt.
Similarly, an award gained by Saudi Vellaka for best costume designer is facing criticism. Manju Radhakrishnan won the award for the best costume designer.
But the social media users wondered what was so exceptional in the costumes used in Saudi Vellakka. Many asked why Mashar Hamsa wasn’t given the award for his out-of-the-box work in Thallumaala (2022).
Even as M Jayachandran was adjudged the best music director for his songs in Ayisha (2023) and Pathonpatham Noottandu (2023), a group of people are curious to know “why always him”.
The senior music director won the Kerala State Award nine times.
However, the jury drew criticism for not considering new music directors like Vishnu Vijay and Jakes Bejoy who composed path-breaking soundtracks recently.
Riya Isha. (Riya Isha/ Instagram)
In another case, transwoman actor Riya Isha accused the Kerala State Film Awards jury of ignoring the films dealing with the transgender community.
She said movies made by transgender people are being ignored for the reasons best known to the jury and didn’t appreciate the jury’s decision to select Shruthi Sharanyam for the award for best director (female).
Films like Others (2022) where Riya acted were also nominated in the woman/transgender person category.
She told the media that it wasn’t clear if the jury watched the movies of transgender people before announcing the awards.
She also stated that she would approach the court regarding the issue and urged the government to give awards separately for transgender persons rather than the existing woman/transgender person category.
Another major discussion in social media is about Malikappuram (2022) not finding a place in the State awards.
Filmmaker and VHP Kerala State President Viji Thampy said the jury must have been advised not to give any awards to Malikappuram.
He was part of the jury of the National Awards last year.
Thampy alleged that Kerala State Film Awards lost its charm as the awards are not being presented to the deserved ones and held the State government responsible for this.
Netizens are also going crazy as to why Devananda, the main child artist of Malikappuram, wasn’t given an award in the best child artist (girl) category.
However, Devananda herself said she accepted the decision of the jury as it’s only possible to give awards to one person when many are in the race.
Actors Santhosh Pandit and Sarath Das vouched for Devanada when she wasn’t picked for the award.
Meanwhile, Malikappuram scriptwriter Abhilash Pillai tried to douse the fire saying that it was not good to shed the happiness of Thanmaya Sol.
“She won the best child artist award for her performance in Sanal Kumar Sasidharan’s Vazhakku (2022),” he added.
Meanwhile, the jury clarified that it is not possible to give away awards to please everyone and added that it did its best.
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