Ahaana Krishna questions seating arrangement of women artists at State Film Awards ceremony
In a social media post, she noted that actors Tovino Thomas and Asif Ali—both recipients of the Special Jury Mention at this year’s awards—and director Chidambaram, who won Best Director for Manjummel Boys, were all seated in the front row.
In a social media post, she noted that actors Tovino Thomas and Asif Ali—both recipients of the Special Jury Mention at this year’s awards—and director Chidambaram, who won Best Director for Manjummel Boys, were all seated in the front row.
In a social media post, she noted that actors Tovino Thomas and Asif Ali—both recipients of the Special Jury Mention at this year’s awards—and director Chidambaram, who won Best Director for Manjummel Boys, were all seated in the front row.
Actor Ahaana Krishna recently questioned the seating arrangement at the Kerala State Film Awards ceremony held in Thiruvananthapuram, drawing attention to the absence of female award winners in the front row. In a social media post, she noted that actors Tovino Thomas and Asif Ali—both recipients of the Special Jury Mention at this year’s awards—and director Chidambaram, who won Best Director for 'Manjummel Boys,' were all seated in the front row.
Ahaana pointed out that several women who received state awards were not accorded similar prominence. Except for Shamla Hamza, who won the Kerala State Film Award for Best Actress for 'Feminichi Fathima,' none of the female awardees were seated in the front row or even the second row. This included Jyothirmayi, who received a Special Jury Mention for her performance in 'Bougainvillaea.' Meanwhile, Vedan—who won the State Award for Best Lyrics in 2025 for the rap song Kuthanthiram from 'Manjummel Boys'—was also seen seated in the front row. It may be recalled that Vedan’s win had drawn criticism, as he had been accused of a rape case.
Expressing her discomfort, Ahaana wrote:
“Everything is great, and I am extremely happy for the winners. But while watching this video, the seating arrangement of the winners made me feel rather uncomfortable. Is it a coincidence that all the women are seated behind the first row? A few of them clearly deserve to be seated in the front row. I genuinely didn’t want to share this here, but I felt a sense of discomfort that I couldn’t ignore.”