KOCHI: The National Film Awards cell has excluded Sajin Babu, a jury member of the National Film Awards South Panel - 1, from the ceremony in Delhi scheduled for Tuesday.
Sajin Babu, a respected filmmaker known for his acclaimed works like Biriyani and Unto Dusk, expressed his surprise at the lack of any notification regarding his exclusion. He took to Facebook to share his dismay, revealing that while all other jury members received invitations, he did not. Despite sending an inquiry email to the National Film Awards (NFA) a week ago, he has received no response.
As a member of the five-person jury, Sajin suspects that his exclusion might be linked to a recent Facebook post highlighting procedural irregularities by the Kerala State Film Development Corporation (KSFDC) in the submission for the 69th NFA.
“I received a call from a senior KSFDC official and an email from the NFA cell cautioning that any public disclosure of the jury’s discussions could lead to the exclusion of the jury member,” he said.
In response, Sajin clarified that he did not disclose any confidential jury deliberations and emphasised his right to be informed about his exclusion and the rationale behind it.