Filmmakers upset as Kollywood gets overlooked at National awards

Despite venturing into more original content, Tamil filmmakers and actors feel they have been given a raw deal by the jury.

After almost close to three decades, Tamil cinema returned empty-handed from the 66th National Film Awards. The last time was in 1992 when there were no awards for Tamil cinema across 39 feature film categories. Film buffs have been lashing out at the jury, asking why films like Pariyerum Perumal, Peranbu, Ratchasan, Vada Chennai and 2.0 weren’t nominated in any category. Mari Selvaraj’s Pariyerum Perumal won several awards in Toulouse Indian Film Festival and Film Critics Circle of India (FICCI) but was not considered. On missing out on National Award, he says, “A filmmaker makes a film for the audience. Awards are secondary. Several people called me up to express their disappointment that Pariyerum Perumal didn’t make the cut at the National Awards this year. People’s acceptance for a film is the real reward a filmmaker can get, and I am glad that Pariyerum Perumal is one such film has given me a huge confidence towards my next film.”

Mammooty’s Peranbu is another film for which the fans of the Superstar, felt was overlooked. Vishnu Vishal’s Raatchasan was among the top three films in IMDB last year that failed to win a National Award this year. The actor, said, “I think awards are given only for their own publicity and not for what a film deserves. I am not only talking about National Awards. Several regional awards giving awards to people who can promote the event in a huge way. Awards do not bother me a lot. I posted on Twitter only after the director of the film Ramkumar expressed his disappointment on missing it out. Tamil cinema has given its best last year. If films like Pariyerum Perumal, Vada Chennai, Peranbu, and 2.0 aren’t eligible for a single award, I don’t think we will get one in the coming years. I really wonder on what basis these awards are given. 2.0 was the first film in the world to have used 4D sound design. Resul Pookutty sir deserved an award at least in the Special Mention Category.” Cinema historian and producer G Dhananjayan, a National Award winner himself, tells us, “National Awards are basically given to realistic films. Peranbu and Pariyerum Perumal were two realistic Tamil films that missed out on awards this time. We cannot fight the case because there were only two realistic films, which was not good enough for us to justify before the jury.”