Awards "Do they deserve"
Controversy could well be the second name of the Indian National Film Awards. The results may still be awaiting official declaration, but the bickering has started over who will win this year. HT Style looks at the character of the controversies surrounding the national awards and why they are still the nation’s most sought-after cinematic honour. Credibility of the jury Popular notion is that anyone who can pull the right strings with the I&B ministry can get a berth in the jury. However, former jury members say this is an exaggeration. “Many deserving people don’t want to be a part of the jury as you have to stay in New Delhi for a month and watch an average of five films every day. It’s a tedious job,” says filmmaker Ashok Pandit.
Another complaint is the jurors’ relationship with contenders. Character actor MacMohan was on the jury in 2001when his niece Raveena Tandon won for Daman). “It’s a question of integrity,” says two-time jury member Rauf Ahmed. There have also have been instances when Raza Murad and Anjan Srivastava walked out, and Amol Palekar withdrew from the chairmanship, when their films they were entered into the competition. Winning performance? Terming the questioning of the worth of winners a below-thebelt attack by sore losers, Ahmed says, “Why pull down the winner for the jury’s decision? It began when Rekha won the Best Actress award for Umrao Jaan in 1982. Popular opinion was that Jennifer Kapoor should have won for 36 Chowringhee Lane.
Ever since, awards have courted con troversy when a performance from mainstream cinema bags an honour (remember Amitabh Bachchan’s Agneepath win in 1991). Veteran Bengali actor Soumitra Chatterjee refused his Special Jury Award in 2001 for Dekha calling it an “insult vis-à-vis the choosing of unworthy actors for prestigious awards.” (Anil Kapoor had won for Pukar). Saif Ali Khan’s win (Hum Tum) last year was also termed ‘undeserving’. “Why are the integrity of the awards questioned when they are given to commercial cinema?” questions a national Film Award feted Bollywood director on condition of anonymity. Power of the lobby Every time a particular region sweeps the awards, allegations of lobbyism surface. When Ben gali and Malayalam cinema were at the forefront, insinua tions were made about a Leftist lobby. In the BJP era there were murmurs about a saffron/ Bolly wood lobby. It took a nasty turn in 2001, when three members walked out alleging a “saffroni sation of the awards” (courtesy the presence of Tarun Vijay, edi tor of Panchjanya, Nivedita Pradhan, a BJP MLA and Par vati Indusekhar, the then I&B minister Sushma Swaraj’s cam paign manager). Mishra sums up the appeal of the national awards stating, “They are an in stitution that need to be pre served in an era where TV programmes are masquerading as award shows.”
source hindustan times
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