Chandu Salimkumar reacts to National Film Awards, calls for artistic merit over politics

Actor Chandu Salimkumar has shared a note expressing his disappointment over the 72nd National Film Awards, saying that such honours should be remembered for recognising artistic excellence and not be clouded by questions over the selection process.
In a social media post, Chandu reflected on how future generations might look back at this year's winners.

"Imagine a child in 2050 studying the history of Indian cinema. They will go through the list of National Award winners and watch every film that was honoured. They won't know who was in power at the time or what the political climate was. They will judge only what they see on screen," he wrote.

The actor said that if critically acclaimed films were overlooked while less deserving ones received recognition, it would inevitably raise questions in the years to come.

"If the answer people give is that proximity to the ruling establishment mattered more than talent, then that is what history will remember. The trophy may last forever, but so will the questions about how it was won," he wrote.

Stressing that the National Awards should stand above changing governments, Chandu added that they must remain a symbol of artistic merit rather than political convenience.

"Awards are meant to outlast governments. They should stand as proof of artistic excellence, not political convenience. If people lose faith in that, history will not remember these as the best films of their time. Instead, they will be remembered as the films that triumphed when power mattered more than merit," he wrote.

The post, shared with the hashtag #NationalCinematicAwards, drew support from several social media users.

Chandu's remarks come amid conversations online over the films that missed out at this year's National Film Awards. Many movie lovers expressed disappointment that critically acclaimed Malayalam films such as 'Manjummel Boys' and 'Kishkindha Kaandam' did not receive any awards. Social media users also pointed to films including 'Thangalaan', 'Meiyazhagan', 'Maharaja', 'Vaazhai' and 'Court' as notable omissions from the winners' list.

The National Film Awards, announced on Friday, honoured Mammootty with the Best Actor award for 'Bramayugam', while 'Feminichi Fathima' was named Best Malayalam Film.