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Fans of actor Mammootty and filmmakers from Kerala and Tamil Nadu have called out the National Film Awards jury for overlooking films such as Peranbu and Pariyerum Perumal this year. Jury member Rahul Rawail, in turn, has alleged that Mammootty’s fans have been trolling him incessantly. Angered by this trolling, Rawail, who is the chairman of the National Film Awards Jury, has also said that the Malayalam superstar lost out on the Best Actor award for the Tamil film Peranbu, because it never went past the regional panel.
Soon after the national awards were announced, angry Mammootty fans attacked Rawail on Facebook using hashtags such as #justiceformammootty and #peranmbudeservesit. Subsequently, Rawail, posted on Facebook a message he claimed to have sent to the actor, urging him to keep his fans on check.
“Message sent by me, as Chairman of the Jury of 66th NFA, to Mammooty: ‘Hi Mr.Mammoty. There has been a lot of ‘hate mail’, that too extremely nasty, that I have been receiving from your fans, or so called fan clubs, as to why you were not given the National Award as Best Actor for the film ‘Peranbu’. Let me set the record straight: Firstly, NOBODY HAS THE RIGHT TO QUESTION A JURY DECISION. Secondly, your film ‘Peranbu’ had been REJECTED by the Regional Panel and hence did not contend in the Central Panel. Your fans and/or devotees should stop fighting a lost cause. Never question a Jury! (sic)” Rawail posted online.
Later Rawail added another post on Facebook in which he claimed that Mammootty had replied to his message with an apology for his fans’ behaviour. Both these Facebook posts have now been deleted.
However, a member of the central panel, and the head of the North panel, Malayalam filmmaker Major Ravi recently told a private Malayalam television channel that Mammootty’s performance was under consideration, but lost out because the “film dragged in the second half, taking away concentration from Mammootty’s performance”. He also mentioned Jayasurya, who lost out too on the top honours.
Silverscreen could not reach Ravi for a comment. Although, speaking to The Newsminute on Tuesday morning, Ravi denied making any comments about the jury’s decisions.
This volley of attack and counterattack has led to further anger among fans and filmmakers in Kerala and Tamil Nadu. That all this is happening over the usually somber affairs that are the national awards has also set tongues wagging. Already, the Tamil film industry is seething at the royal snub it has received from the jury despite making critically acclaimed films such as Pariyerum Perumal, Vada Chennai, Peranbu and Merku Thodarchi Malai. Only one Tamil film, Baaram, has received recognition this year.
National award-winning director Vasanthabalan has joined the chorus as well with his post on Facebook, wondering why Tamil films were ignored at the awards.
He wrote, “Tamil films, actors and technicians have been totally ignored at this year’s awards. Films such as Peranbu, Pariyerum Perumal, Vada Chennai, Raatchasan and 96 were well-made worthy films. Why were they ignored? Mammootty and Sadhana had acted with their souls in Peranbu, and brought alive their characters. What did they find wrong in Yuvan’s music or Theni Easwaran’s cinematography? I then got to know that they did not invite any good jury members from Tamil. Did they invite people for an eyewash? Two years ago, I was invited to be part of the jury. They called me a day before I was to leave for a 30-day stay in Delhi. Was that right? If this has to change, then top stars in Tamil, experts in cinema and political leaders should raise their voice against this.”
Speaking to Silverscreen, he said, “It was apparent that there was no one to bat for Tamil cinema. I felt terrible, and therefore wrote what I did. Imagine a film like 2.0 not winning for Special Effects? Or Mammootty for Peranbu?”
Some voices in the industry claim, off the record, that that this was a well-executed political vendetta against filmmakers and artistes from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, for the way the two States voted. Lyricist Yugabharathi, at the audio launch of Kannirasi, held in Chennai on August 13, remarked that Tamil cinema will not win a national award for the next five years. “For these are trying times and we need a lot to help us laugh for the next five years when we won’t win a single national award,” he said, according to this report in The New Indian Express.