In another post on X, he clarified: "And if it wasn't clear, I have no problem with Tarun winning. My best to him and his entire team. This is about wasting my time and energy."
Published Sep 30, 2024 | 3:55 PM ⚊ Updated Sep 30, 2024 | 3:55 PM
Director Hemanth M Rao calls out IIFA for being 'disrespectful'. (X)
Kannada director Hemanth M Rao on Sunday, 29 September, took to the social media platform X to share his experience with the IIFA awards.
Known for his critically acclaimed films Sapta Sagaradaache Ello (Side A and Side B), Hemanth Rao criticised the organisers for being “extremely disrespectful” and wasting his time.
In a lengthy post on his social media handle, Hemanth Rao wrote: “The whole IIFA experience was such a massive inconvenience and extremely disrespectful.”
The director noted that in award shows, only the winners generally were flown in and hosted for the event. “I’ve been in this business for over a decade and this wasn’t my first stint at award shows.”
Speaking of the inconvenience, Hemanth Rao claimed that he sat till 3 am only to realise there was no award. “The same happened to my Music Director: Charan Raj.”
Small detail about this year’s #IIFAawards2024. pic.twitter.com/7nJHWiPHEv
— Hemanth M Rao (@hemanthrao11) September 29, 2024
Hemanth Rao further stated that it wasn’t a case of “sour grapes”, saying, “It’s your award. You can give it to whoever you want to. That’s your choice!! I haven’t won MANY awards and haven’t lost sleep over it, so these grapes aren’t sour.”
He added, “If all the other nominees were invited and one winner emerged out of it. I wouldn’t bother getting irritated. Also, the format this year was just to hand out the award. The nominees weren’t even mentioned.”
“Maybe it’s been a while for you and your team to realize it. Your award shows run on the talent that you put on your stage. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. I don’t need your award to enjoy the best job in the world. Next time you need me on your stage… and TRUST ME…you will.”
Hemanth Rao ended the note by mentioning, “Everything has a silver lining. Mine was to see several of my team members go up on stage and receive a bunch of awards. It wasn’t a complete waste of time.”
Later in another post on X, he clarified: “And if it wasn’t clear, I have no problem with Tarun winning. My best to him and his entire team. This is about wasting my time and energy.”
Tharun Sudhir won the award for Best Director (Kannada) for Kaatera (2023).
(Edited by Y Krishna Jyothi)
