Malayalam filmmaker VC Abhilash's critically acclaimed movie ‘Aalorukkam’ had won the National Award 2018 for the best film on social issues. However, he was targeted by right-wing activists soon after a few award-winners, including him, boycotted the annual function in Delhi to protest against the President's decision to hand over only a few awards personally. While regretting a few remarks he had made over the issue, Abhilash said those who had boycotted the award ceremony have not yet received their awards.
The filmmaker said that the officials haven’t yet taken a decision about sending the awards to the respective winners.
“It is the President who signs on the award. We are in fact surprised that they haven’t taken a decision as of when the awards would be dispatched to the recipients. Union minister Smrithi Irani has been removed from her position (as I&B minister) and this proves that we were right and our demand was just. But none of has received even an email yet. When we contacted those who spoke to us before the commencement of the award ceremony, they informed that they were not interested to interfere in this matter anymore. I don’t know whether there is a political motive behind all these. Usually the award would be send through courier if someone is unable to take part in the ceremony. We have no idea what they are going to do now. Anyway we have decided to wait for a month more,” says the award-winning filmmaker.
Then Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani had handed over most of the awards instead of President Ram Nath Kovind. All the award-winners who had boycotted the 65th National Film Awards presentation ceremony in May had started a WhatsApp group and they frequently communicate about the matters related to it. Abhilash added that the prize money for award-winners had been deposited in their respective accounts.
Abhilash said that winning the national award that too for his debut movie, was indeed a great honour. The filmmaker confessed that his emotionally charged comments made in front of the media was prompted by the insult and pain that he felt when he came to know that the President wouldn’t be distributing the award. “Emotional outbursts like that would affect the personality of a debut artist like me. Later I felt that I shouldn’t have done that. Emotionally charged language and response would take us nowhere. I have to show maturity in everything. I have promised myself that I wouldn’t repeat that anymore,” Abhilash confessed.
Soon after the row over boycotting the award function in Delhi, BJP workers had smeared cow dung over his flex board, which they themselves have erected when the movie’s lead actor Indrans won the Kerala state award for the best actor. Recalling the incident, Abhilash, in an interview with Onmanorama from Sharja, said, “It was the BJP workers who erected my flex board even though they clearly knew that my affinities were with the Leftists. When I returned from Delhi after the national award controversy, I saw that they themselves had smeared cow dung over it. To be honest, I thought it was really funny. But they may have regretted doing that, so they kept another flex board of a youth from the locality, who had competed in a national-level wrestling competition, in the same place. It was then that I reacted, because they had erected the youth’s flex board just to take mine off.”
