The jury reportedly watched no more than two or three films, and even those only partially — between 30 and 60 minutes. The selection was reportedly made according to the "whims and fancies" of the jury members.
Published Jun 17, 2025 | 8:13 PM ⚊ Updated Jun 23, 2025 | 8:49 AM
While the Congress government’s decision to revive the awards has largely been welcomed, the execution, despite substantial public expenditure, has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the process.
Synopsis: The jury for the recently held Telangana Gaddar Film Awards reportedly did not watch most of the films before selecting the winners, South First has learned. Despite significant government spending, the inaugural edition of the awards – named after Marxist revolutionary Gaddar – was marked by a hasty process, controversial selections, and the absence of many awardees.
In a shocking revelation, it has emerged that most of the films selected for the Telangana Gaddar Film Awards (TGFA) were not viewed by the jury before being chosen for the honours.
A member of the jury confirmed to South First that the selections were largely based on oral recommendations by individual members.
For the revival edition, held on Saturday, 14 June, awards were presented across multiple categories for films released from 2014 to 2024.
Notable winners for 2024 included Allu Arjun (Best Actor), Kalki 2898 AD (Best Film), and Nag Ashwin (Best Director).
While the Congress government’s decision to revive the awards – which had been cast aside since the bifurcation of Andhra Pradesh – has largely been welcomed, the execution, despite substantial public expenditure, has raised serious concerns over the integrity of the process.
The awards were named after the Marxist revolutionary balladeer Gaddar, who was previously associated with the Maoist movement before entering the mainstream.
The state was generous with the prize money, with some awards carrying cash prizes of up to ₹10 lakh – more than three times the amount awarded with the national film awards.
Yet, in what proved to be an embarrassment for both the organisers and the government, several awardees did not attend the ceremony to receive the honours from the Chief Minister.
“No one seems to have paid adequate attention as to how the entire process has to be gone through,” a jury member told South First.
“The haste with which officials in the Film Development Corporation went about the business made it impossible to put in place a foolproof selection process which goes into the merits and demerits of each film on multiple counts while also giving due regard to the historical facts and cultural nuances of the state of Telangana.”
The erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh had a tradition of presenting the Nandi Film Awards annually. However, this practice was discontinued after the BRS came to power in Telangana following the state’s bifurcation in 2014.
After the Congress formed the government in 2023, it decided to revive film awards across several categories, starting with films released in 2024. Initially, the plan was to present awards for the last year alone.
However, on the recommendation of the Telangana State Film Development Corporation, the scope was expanded to include films from each year between 2014 and 2023 – years during which no awards had been presented under the BRS regime.
While entries were invited for 2024 across various categories, no such process was followed for the previous years.
For 2014 to 2023, the jury simply referred to lists of films released in each year and selected three films per year at random for awards – without any formal submission process.
The 2024 jury was chaired by senior actor Jaya Sudha, while the selection of films from 2014 to 2023 was overseen by veteran actor Murali Mohan.
The members were:
The Managing Director of the Film Development Corporation, Harish, served as the convenor.
A jury member told South First that standard procedure requires members to complete appraisal forms, awarding scores to films based on elements like story, music, and direction. But no such method was followed this time.
The jury reportedly watched no more than two or three films, and even those only partially – between 30 and 60 minutes.
The jury attributed the rushed process to a tight 30-day deadline imposed by officials in the film department. Selecting three films from each of the 10 years, after watching a possible 200 to 300 films, was deemed unfeasible.
Thus, the selection was reportedly done as per the “whims and fancies” of jury members.
One controversial selection was the film Razakar, chosen for Best Environment/Heritage/History, despite being widely regarded as a propaganda piece not grounded in historical fact.
Sources said the film was selected despite objections from within the jury. Notably, jury chairperson Jaya Sudha is a member of the BJP, and the film’s producer, Gudur Narayana Reddy, is also a BJP member.
Further controversy erupted during the award ceremony when actor Allu Arjun received the Best Actor award for Pushpa II, even as he faces legal proceedings over a tragic stampede at a Hyderabad cinema on 4 December 2024 – the day the film released – which led to the death of a woman and critical brain injuries to her son.
At the time, Chief Minister Revanth Reddy had publicly criticised the actor’s conduct at the theatre. However, at the award ceremony, the two shared the stage, with Reddy personally presenting the award to Arjun.
Allu Arjun even delivered a line from Pushpa II while on stage, in the presence of the Chief Minister, Deputy Chief Minister, and senior officials – an act some view as inappropriate given the pending legal case.
He recited the dialogue:
“Aa bidda meeda okka geeta padda, Gangamma jaatara lo eta talalu narkinattu rafa rafa narukuta okokkadini, Pushpa, Pushpa Raj, Asalu Taggedele.”
(“If anyone had harmed her [a character in the film], I will slay them one after the other like one who kills the sacrificial goats in the Gangamma Jaatara.”)
“It is ethically wrong since the investigation of the case against Arjun is still going on,” a retired High Court judge told South First.
Observers have interpreted the on-stage exchange as a moment of apparent reconciliation between Arjun and Reddy, who had previously been at odds.
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(Edited by Dese Gowda)
