National Awards : Big on Bollywood - The Hindu

Big on Bollywood

Namrata Joshi

The 63rd National Film Awards have been very generous to Bollywood but there are smaller regional gems in the list too

It's heartening when a film award recognises genuine talent. One of the most deserving picks this year at the 63rd National Film Awards is writer Juhi Chaturvedi for the screenplay and dialogue of Piku . A lot of the Shoojit Sircar film actually belongs to Chaturvedi, and in her ability to go against the usual story and plot-driven, high-on-drama content. Instead, Chaturvedi has created heart-tugging cinema about characters, relationships and interactions, with her skill at being able to capture cultural details and yet see the universal in the particular.

There are other such reassuring inclusions this year, most of them a nod to the young, progressive, emerging talent in Indian cinema. Like Raam Reddy's Kannada debut Thithi , a rooted, unorthodox and humorous film about death, or first-timer Bhaskar Hazarika's beguiling yet disturbing feminist film,Kothanodi , based on the folk tales of Assam, and made thanks to a crowd-funding initiative.

No two films could be as different, but it is good to see them both in the limelight: Gurvinder Singh'sChauthi Koot about the paranoia in Punjab in the post Operation Bluestar era, and Sharat Katariya's refreshing, empathetic and endearing Dum Laga Ke Haisha about two mismatched individuals thrown together in matrimony, discovering love and sex along the way.

If the sexual politics and caste narrative in a changing yet eternal Varanasi in Masaan gets a thumbs up for the best debut feature, the best debut in the non-features section is a Marathi short by Nishant Roy Bombarde called Daavratha (Threshold). It is all about an adolescent struggling with the realisation that he may be "different" as he loves dance, mehndi and jewellery.

Another nod to LGBTQ cinema is the best editing award given to Parvin Angre and Shridhar Rangayan for Rangayan's documentary, Breaking Free , on how Section 377 is being misused to oppress and torture the community. And, of course, there is a lesbian angle in Margarita With A Straw as well, though the jury special award highlights Kalki Koechlin's "realistic performance as a young woman afflicted with cerebral palsy."

Despite such goodness in evidence, it's the big awards that strike a discordant note, seemingly reserved for the mainstream. In the hierarchy of awards then, it's only thus far that the marginal seem to go and no further.

So Bahubali bags the best film award for its imagination and monumental production value, despite the several debates on its hidden misogyny and regressiveness (remember the warrior woman transforming into a sultry seductress for the hero). Amitabh Bachchan brings home his fourth National Award and Kangana Ranaut her third. If we look at the main awards (not including the language and special mentions), then Bollywood leads with wins in 18 categories.

Has mainstream Bollywood taken such quantum leap in quality? Or is the so-called regional cinema on a downswing? Where have the Malayalam and Bengali films, always at the top of the heap, gone this year? Have the National Awards taken a leaf out of Filmfare-Stardust in trying to make everyone stay happy, from young to old, offbeat to mainstream, left to right?

The National Awards have always been about discovering the hidden gems among films and filmmakers. This year, that discovery has come in the film writing section with the Best Critic Award going to Meghachandra Kongbom from Manipur, a state where Hindi cinema is banned. To give the award then to the Film Whisperer in Manipur, nicely balances out the Bollywood predominance this year.

However, the most perplexing new award has been that for the most film-friendly state. What's the point of this exercise? And why begin with Gujarat where, just the other day, Shah Rukh Khan's convoy got pelted with stones during the shoot of Raees . Even if they had to initiate something like this my vote would have gone to Uttar Pradesh. Tevar in Mathura/Agra. Masaan in Varanasi, Meeruthiya Gangstersin Meerut and Noida, Talvar in Noida, those famous Sandila ke laddoos in Piku , Aligarh in Aligarh... Bollywood has been warming up to Akhilesh Yadav's Ulta Pradesh, or rather Ulta Pradesh has been warming up to Bollywood like never before.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/mumbai/national-film-awards-big-on-bollywood/article8407905.ece?secpage=true&secname=entertainment&ref=tpnews

Jury name should be out

I wish national award were given to the deserving ones and if there are no such deserving candidates let there not be that particular award for the year but just don't lower the bar of quality and stahndard just to fill a slot. It makes it just another award with no credibility or logic. I felt a lot of awards were given to people who don't deserve it just because there was no better competition.

Finally a balanced take on NA. Everybody keeps complaining about the regional cinema being ignored. But nobody bothers about the regional films that have actually won awards. There's a reason why I do not feel like completely dissing NA. Even last year they acknowledged a lot of small regional films which helped in generating a hype around them . These are the only awards which are familiar to both regular/normal audience and the filmi folks across different parts of the country. So them giving awards to such films helps a lot in widening the reach of these movies.

Someone post the jury list

Originally posted by: ImagineMe

Kuch bhi.

Where were the articles all these years when Hindi cinema was lagging behind at NA???

Regional always ruled supreme. Hindi cinema is evolving and therefore let it enjoy its moment.

The person writing should do some research of the past winners first. 🥱

Originally posted by: Live2eat

Someone post the jury list

Vivek is already licking it with his tweets lol

I agree with the points raised in this article.

I loved bahubali myself but I dont think it should have won the best feature film award. IMO it belongs to the "wholesome entertainer" category for which BB won.

Originally posted by: Kaapi

Did you read the article? Yes, the main awards for BM, Amitabh, Bahubali are indeed very much debatable. And Bahubali definitely doesn't fit in here. . The article in fact, doesn't even diss these awards completely. It raises some valid points and continues to praise it for acknowledging some smaller gems.

Also since you have raised the point, Regional films STILL churn out better content than Bollywood films. Even now. Hindi films, honestly have a lot of catching up to do when it comes to balancing entertainment and quality. I can vouch for it. And off late, Marathi films have been churning some brilliant stuff .

The person who wrote it has done her research and it definitely shows in the way she put her thoughts.