Through a press release earlier today, 108 signatories, including director Dr Biju demanded that the Kerala government do away with Mohanlal handing out the state awards and ‘belittling’ the winners as his movies were in the running for the same awards.
The list of signatories included prominent names such as directors Rajiv Ravi, Siddharth Siva, Geethu Mohandas, actors Prakash Raj, Reema Kallingal, Sajitha Madathil and writers such as Sethu, N.S.Madhavan and Sachidanandan.
Director Dr.Biju through a Facebook post said that the state cultural department should take a leaf out of the National Awards ceremony and follow a similar model where the Chief Minister presents awards to the winners rather than invite someone who had no business at the ceremony, terming the prevailing system ‘illogical.’
പ്രസ് റിലീസ്സംയുക്ത പ്രസ്താവനസിനിമയിലെ ക്രിയാത്മകമായ കലാപ്രവര്ത്തനങ്ങള്ക്ക് ഒരു സംസ്ഥാനം നല്കുന്ന ഉന്നതമായ…
Posted by Bijukumar Damodaran on Sunday, July 22, 2018
Meanwhile, at the ongoing International Documentary and Short Film Festival of Kerala (IDSFFK), several documentary filmmakers staged a sit-in on Sunday evening to express solidarity with the members of Women in Cinema Collective (WCC) who are batting for dignity and gender equality at work-space.
The film-makers who participated in the protest were Surabhi Sharma, Simandini Dhuru, Anand Patwardhan, Debolina Majumdar, Mithali Biswas, Koel Sen, Rafeeq Ellias, and Amudhan RP.
Anand Patwardhan, who was awarded the lifetime achievement award at the festival, also criticized the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes’ (AMMA) move to reinstate the accused, Dileep into the organisation before the trial proceedings began.
Mohanlal, who recently assumed charge as the president of AMMA, had come under heavy criticism for initiating the move, so much so that some artistes and winners of the Kerala State Film Awards have vowed to stay away from the ceremony if he were to be the chief guest.
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Kerala govt backs rape survivor’s petition
In the case of the abduction and sexual assault of the Malayalam actress, the Kerala government has backed the petition of the rape survivor seeking a special court and a woman judge to preside over the case in which actor Dileep is the main accused. The government also called for a speedy trial. Reports of Dileep trying to delay the trial proceedings have also surfaced.
As per the government statement, “Considering the special circumstances, the government is of the opinion that a special court may be constituted headed by a woman judge for the trial for a period of one year or until the closure of trial whichever is earlier.”