THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian on Tuesday came out in support of Kerala State Chalachitra Academy chairman Ranjith in connection with the Kerala State Film Awards controversy. He said awards were given to the deserving and hence there is no need for any probe. He said the decision by the state film award jury will not be reviewed and the chairman of the Film Academy did not interfere in the selection of award winners. However, Ranjith has not responded so far on the issue.
“There is a procedure in the award selection. So no one can interfere in the selection process. Ranjith is a legend of Malayalam cinema. He had no role in determining the award. The academy led by him is running smoothly. The activities by Ranjith in the academy were a matter of pride for the cultural department,” Cherian said.
He added that there was no controversy about giving the best actor award to Mammootty. “The allegations are baseless. It is the responsibility of the award selection committee, and if there is evidence, they can proceed legally,” clarified the minister. He said the award winners were selected by an impartial jury. Meanwhile, director Vinayan is set to move the court against the chairman of the film academy. Vinayan informed that more evidence will be released in the coming days.
The controversy over the 53rd Kerala State Film Awards has taken a new turn with director Vinayan coming out with an audio clip of jury member Nemom Pushparaj to prove his allegations against Ranjith of manipulating the jury’s decisions.
In a Facebook post with the audio clip, Vinayan said Pushparaj can be heard telling a media person that Ranjith is not eligible to continue as the chairman of the academy.
“Nemom Pushparaj has testified in detail about the shocking details of the many dirty interferences and conspiracies in the decision-making process of the state awards. I want to ask Ranjith whether he has the legal or moral right to be in that position after the disclosure of this statement. Will the culture department, which knew about this well at the early stages of the selection process, take action at least now?” Vinayan asked.
Vinayan had accused Ranjith of denying an award for the former’s film Pathonpatham Noottandu. He claimed that Ranjith persuaded the jury members to avoid films by directors whom he dislikes. Furthermore, Vinayan said that a senior jury member had tried to contact the cultural minister’s personal secretary as well as the secretary of Chalachitra Academy to inform them about Ranjith’s intervention. Vinayan even demanded to inquire whether Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian was aware of the events. He also questioned Ranjith’s right to intervene in the process and said that he should resign if found guilty of influencing the jury in his capacity. Vinayan alleged that, during the award selection process, Ranjith told jury members that Pathonpatham Noottandu was a bad film.
Fresh controversy on 'Best book on cinema'
The selection of the ‘Best Book on Cinema’ has also kicked up a row. The award winner is C S Venkiteswaran for his book ‘Cinemayude Bhavanadeshanagal’. However, writer V Rajakrishnan has come out with an allegation that none of the jury members are competent enough to select the best book on cinema. Rajakrishnan’s book ‘Vithumpunna Panapathram’ was also included in the nomination list. He added that he did not get justice from the jury.
Award row gets a political spin
The row took a political turn on Tuesday with the AIYF, the youth wing of LDF partner CPI, coming out against Ranjith. AIYF general secretary T S Jismon said that Ranjith had intervened in the finalisation of the film awards. “Ranjith is behaving like a feudal lord. His remark against the film Pathonpatham Noottandu is not in line with the position is holding,” he said. The AIYF also declared its support for Vinayan’s decision to move to the court against the award selection process.