THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Film awards and controversy seem to be synonymous. Like in the previous years, the film awards have kicked up a row this time too. It all started with director T V Chandran giving sound bytes to some channels on Friday lambasting both Adoor Gopalakrishnan and the Cultural Department over the film awards.
According to Chandran, last year’s jury did not consider Adoor’s film for the award as it was a television serial.
This year, however, the jury gave the best film award to ‘Oru Pennum Randanum’, the second part of the serial.
‘‘This is not for the first time that my films are being sidelined in the awards,’’ Chandran said.
Chandran also was of the view that the jury and the Cultural Department were afraid of Adoor. Adoor was making films for financial benefits. He had bagged Rs 4 to 5 lakh through various awards for this film, he said. ‘‘It is not fair for Adoor to praise the jury which selected his film for the award,’’ Chandran said.
Adoor did not retort to the rhetoric of Chandran. ‘‘Those who make films should understand the differences between cinema and serial,’’ he said in the press conference convened to announce the J C Daniel Award.
Adoor said that there was nothing wrong in expecting financial benefit from his film. ‘Cinema is my profession.
I have the right to carry on my profession,’ he said. He also said that he did not praise the jury. ‘‘I had said only that if a jury is good, it would select a good film for the award. If it is bad, the selection will also be bad.’’ The film has already been screened in over 40 international festivals. The organisers of these festivals had nothing to fear him, he said. Cultural Affairs Minister M A Baby said, ‘‘I am not afraid of Adoor Gopalakrishnan. I admire him. Controversies are good if they are constructive’’.