National Film Awards are compromised, says Prakash Raj at Kerala State Film Awards announcement

Actor and filmmaker Prakash Raj, who headed the jury for the 55th Kerala State Film Awards, had some scathing remarks to make when asked about actor Mammootty being denied National Awards in recent years despite being tipped to win for some acclaimed performances.

“I don’t mind stating that the National Film Awards are compromised. I am happy to be a jury chairman of Kerala because when they called me they said that they need an outsider who is experienced. They said that they will not poke their hands into it and that they will let us make a decision. I think if it is such a jury, they don’t deserve Mammukka,” said Mr. Prakash Raj.

He lauded the State government for funding films by women and those from Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe categories, but said that there should be a curating team to ensure quality so that these films secure the major awards.

For the second consecutive year, the jury did not give any award in the children’s film category. The jury observed that although six children’s films were submitted, none of them were from a child’s viewpoint.

“We request the film fraternity to please think of making children’s films. Children are a part of the society and we need to know what children think and what they understand. Just casting a few children is not enough to make it a children’s cinema. None of the films submitted talked about children’s perceptions. Even in the other films in which child actors were cast, they were not speaking their age,” said Mr. Prakash Raj.

The jury has also suggested introducing awards for dialogue writing and action choreography. It has also suggested doing away with the sync sound award by merging it with sound mixing.