The state government would have to amend rules and regulations instituted for finalising the award for the best book on Malayalam cinema from the coming year onwards.
As per the rules translations, anthologies, abridgments and edited or annotated works cannot be considered for the award. Rules also suggest that books and articles republished or contents copied from other texts cannot be considered for the award.
However, the jury has selected ‘Cinemayude Nottangal’, an anthology of essays by K Gopinathan, as the best book on Malayalam cinema this year. This is not the first time that a collection of essays is being selected for the award.
“We are aware of the rules and regulations, but the jury was left with no other choice. Names of 13 books were submitted for the award, and among these, a majority were anthologies. However, the jury finalised four books, out of which ‘Cinemayude Nottangal’ was considered the best,” said a jury member. He conceded that it is against rules and regulations to consider anthologies for the award and added that the quality of books on cinema is deteriorating every year.