Nutan to get posthumous award for acting

Noted actress late Nutan will be conferred with the 'Meenakumari excellence in acting' award posthumously at a function to be held in September in Mumbai.

The award has been instituted by Shaandar Amrohi and the Meenakumari fan's club. Shaandar is the elder son of legendary filmmaker Kamaal Amrohi, husband of the late Meenakumari.

Addressing a press conference in Mumbai on Friday, Shaandar Amrohi said the award will be an annual affair. Apart from honouring actress from Meenakumari era, an actress from the present contemporary era will also be honoured.

The award winners will not neccessarily be those who have been leading ladies in their films, Amrohi said adding the name of the second actress will be announced shortly.

To a question on why Nutan was chosen for the award, he said Nutan was a classic actress. "From the present generation of actresses, critical acclaim is one of the important criteria, apart from commercial success. Apart from her intense performances in Sujata and Bandini, she is also remembered for her light roles in films like Tere Ghar Ke Saamne. She was a spontaneous actress," he said.

He recalled that Chhoti Ammi, as he referred to Meenakumari, had several contemporaries like Nutan, Madhubala and Nargis.

"Apart from their exterior good looks, they were beautiful from the hearts and hence their beauty stands out even today," he said. Meenakumari had a beautiful voice and was a natural performer before the camera, he said.

"The award comprises cash prize of Rs 50,000 each, a trophy and a certificate for acting excellence," Shaandar Amrohi, who is also the President of the Meenakumari fan's club, said.

When asked why he chose to institute the awards after so many years, Shaandar said he had been wanting to do so for the last 15 years. "One cannot do whatever comes in his mind. God's will is also important," he said.

Shaandar said he is in the process of reviving the Kamaal Amrohi film banner and in the midst of scripting a film which will have a male protagonist and three leading ladies.

He expressed his displeasure over the current fast pace and commercialisation of filmmaking. "People like us who are accustomed to tedious process of putting together a film cannot cope with the pace and pure commercial aspects of present day filmmaking," he felt.

Shaandar, who acted in few films in his younger days said, since Razia Sultan his debut film did not do well, he was not noticed. "No good roles came my way and hence I gave up acting to concentrate on looking after the family studio business," he added.

Originally posted by: sandali_

There can be no one quite like her.😳 I guess they forgot to mention her 'light role' in Dil Hi To Hai cos she was fab in that.

Originally posted by: bunbutt_too

Also the Shobhana Samarth production, Chabili with Tanuja, K.C. Mishra and Nutan. This was the first film in which she sang for herself and Tanu as well.