ENTERTAINMENT
Past and present awardees react to President Ram Nath Kovind handing over only 11 awards yesterday in Delhi
Bagging the coveted National Film Award is arguably the greatest honour for any recipient in Indian cinema. However, a number of winners this year were not in a celebratory mood when it was announced that the Honourable President Ram Nath Kovind would only present 11 awards.
On Wednesday, during the rehearsals at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, it was announced that the rest of the awards would be conferred by Information and Broadcasting (I&B) Minister Smriti Irani; Minister of State, I&B, Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and I&B Secretary Narendra Kumar Sinha.
The decision didn’t go down well with many of the awardees, who were upset with the development. They wrote a letter to the Directorate of Film Festival, Office of the President of India and the Information and Broadcasting Ministry, expressing their disappointment. After Hrs spoke to the winners of the 65th National Film Awards and former recipients, who expressed their point of view about the emotional reaction of the awardees...
What happened was very wrong. It’s a 65-year-old history where the President of India gives away the National Awards. They can’t break the tradition like that. We weren’t given any intimation about it. We got to know about it only during the rehearsals and were taken aback. After all, this is a moment we all wait for — getting an award from the President! We wrote a letter and even gave options, saying we will all stand in a line and the President can give away the Award to us one by one since he is short on time. And, this would take only five-10 minutes.
I have tremendous respect for the Award and the jury, but I was disappointed with the planning and the President’s unavailability to present the trophy. We were given word about receiving it from him, but the promise was not kept. We had called our families for the ceremony. When I went to pick up my mother, the look of disappointment on her face when I told her about this was heartbreaking. My father couldn’t make it from Vancouver, otherwise, he would have been more disappointed. The ceremony was planned in advance. We were sent a letter stating that the trophy will be given by the President, but were told at the rehearsals night that the plan has changed. I think it was unfair to the rest of winners, who weren’t getting the award from the President. I also wished I were a guy because clearly, the male playback singer was among those to get the award from the President.
All I can say is that when we got the letter, it said we will be receiving the award from the Honourable President of India. But what happened was unexpected! I don’t know how to react, this is my first National Award, so I am equally happy and honoured to receive it from whoever is authorised to give it. But, there are other dignitaries who have done great movies and are not getting the Award from the President. They are not really happy with it.
I met a few of the winners who were there for the rehearsals. Although, they didn’t tell me anything, it must’ve been really disappointing for them to reach there and get to know that this has happened. It’s like you’re getting married and you’re told ‘kanyadaan padosi karega’. When I won the National Award, I took my entire family to the event. All the winners get their family members and many others to attend the event. When you get that Award from the President of India, it makes you feel that the years of hard work has been worthwhile. If the recipients would have been told beforehand, perhaps the disappointment would have been less. Because it’s still the National Award, which is the biggest award for any artiste in the film industry. To suddenly dilute the importance of such an award is sad.
We are here in Delhi, and to be honest, we don’t have any reason or justification to boycott the awards. My son Riddhi has been adjudged the Best Actor of the Year and is being conferred the National Award. The team has selected a few awards, which will be given by the President, and my son is one of them, since it’s one of the key awards of the evening. We don’t have any reasons to complain, but we sympathise with others who are upset with the development. It’s true that getting the honour from The President Of India is a different feeling, but we should not forget that eventually, this is the highest award of excellence given to an artiste. The value of the award still remains the same. If our son didn’t get it from the President, we would have been disappointed, too, but we wouldn’t have declined or refused to take the award at any cost.
The President giving away the awards is a tradition that has been going on for 64 years. So, it’s sad to hear that this year, the President has given away only 11 awards. The ceremony is only three hours long. Also, my question is why was this conveyed at the last minute, when the awardees went for the rehearsals. Seeing the news that some of the winners contemplated skipping the ceremony, I feel it will set a bad precedent. The argument that the certificates have all been signed by the President doesn’t convince because, by that logic, they can be sent by courier. The National Award ceremony is a big moment — to share the stage with the President of India — that’s the moment you work for. That’s a memory and if I don’t have it, it’s meaningless. The ceremony is a tradition and should not be broken. Perhaps the ceremony could have been scheduled at a better date.
As filmmakers, we provide entertainment to the world and revenue to the government via taxes. So, keeping these things in mind, the film industry deserves three hours just once in a year.
Usually, the ceremony begins at 5.30 pm. But this time, everyone was told to be seated by 3.30 pm. According to protocol, the function can’t start until the head of state, in this case, the President, arrives. The ceremony could have started with him giving the 11 awards and leaving, after which the Ministry could have continued with the ceremony, giving away the other awards.
“Honestly, I am just the President of the jury at the National Award and my jurisdiction ends after declaring the awards.” He refused to comment any further and disconnected the call. We tried to contact him again but he chose to not respond to our calls and texts.
12-yr-old boy illustrates Bhagavad Gita verses with 84,426 pics, creates record
Manipur violence: Protesters attack residence of CM, 2 ministers, 3 MLAs, curfew imposed
Delhi pollution: Toxic smog chokes Delhi-NCR; AQI remains in 'severe' category, Anand Vihar at 458
Madhuri Dixit breaks her silence on rivalry with Sridevi in 90s: ‘We didn’t really…’
Mukesh Ambani, Isha Ambani's BIG move, they're closing Reliance led Centro because...
Meet woman, engineer who cracked CAT with 99% marks later cleared UPSC with AIR 15, she is...
Viral video: Little girl wins heart with adorable dance to Shraddha Kapoor’s 'Aayi Nai' song, watch
Viral video: Girl’s breathtaking dance to Aishwarya Rai's 'Barso Re' song earns praise, watch
Here's how much Jake Paul earned from his win against Mike Tyson
This bird has one of the largest eyes in world, even bigger than its brain, they measure…
Gautam Adani's company announces another 13% reduction in gas supply from GAIL, could impact...
Ajay Devgn makes big announcement, will direct Akshay Kumar in fifth directorial
IPL legend overlooked by franchises, excluded from shortlist for mega-auction
Bengaluru: Father slams 14-year-old son against wall, kills him due to...
Anupamaa crew member dies due to electrocution, safety on sets questioned
Skoda Slavia, Kushaq and Volkswagen Taigun, Virtus to be recalled in India due to…
Meet Vaibhav Suryavanshi, 13-year-old batting prodigy to watch out for in IPL 2025 mega auction
Bigg Boss 18 wild card contestant Edin Rose: Know everything about her
Govinda deals with health scare, leaves election campaign due to...
Who is Shivon Zili ? Mother of world's richest man's 'secret twins', her connection with India is...
Good News for Delhi-NCR residents as RRTS corridor likely to commence operations from...
Didn't get ticket for Coldplay? Here's what you can do instead
AIIMS INICET January 2025: Result declared, follow these steps to check your scores
6G's Growing Concern: Terahertz Waves May Impact Male Reproductive Health
Is RBI planning to release Rs 7 coin to honour MS Dhoni? Truth is...
Manipur: Curfew reimposed in Imphal amid prevailing law and order situation
This is Nita Ambani, Alia Bhatt's hairstylist hack for extra shine in hair
New concrete coating offers hope in fight against sewer blockages
What is Train 18? This is the fastest train in India, runs at speed of 200km/h, it is…
Disha Patani’s father scammed: Fraudsters promise him government job in UP, dupe him of Rs 25 lakh
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance asks TRAI to review reach of Musk's Starlink, Amazon before...
Andhra CM Chandrababu Naidu's brother Ramamurthy Naidu dies at 72 due to...
Kanguva makers face criticism over 'poor' audio quality, producer reacts: 'No one has...'
Miss Universe 2024: Rhea Singha dazzles in 'The Golden Bird' dress for National Costume Round
Mallika Sagar to conduct IPL 2025 mega auction in Jeddah: All you need to know about the auctioneer
Supreme Court asks centre to assess ground situation on menstrual hygiene in schools
4,4,4,6: Shaheen Afridi smashed for 21-run over in AUS vs PAK 2nd T20I
THIS historic train will be discontinued soon, set to become restaurant, it is...
Woman's body stuffed in red suitcase found on Delhi-Lucknow highway, police initiate probe
Sukhbir Singh Badal resigns as Shiromani Akali Dal president
ISRO to launch GSAT-20 communications satellite using Elon Musk's SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on...
Uttar Pradesh: 7 people, including newly-wed couple, die after car collides with auto in Bijnor
After Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul, when will Elon Musk fight with Mark Zuckerberg? Tesla CEO says...
Maharashtra people want our government to be in power: PM Modi hails Mahayuti, slams MVA
Jhansi hospital fire: Congress demands probe, strict action against those guilty of negligence
Diljit Dosanjh slams his fans who trolled women crying at his concert: 'Only those who...'
'If i feel like...': Aditya Roy Kapur reveals why he does not take a shower daily
Mukesh Ambani's CHEAPEST offer for Jio users: Get 10 GB of 4G data for Rs 11, but there is a catch
International Space Station 'leak' worsens, Astronauts at risk as NASA cites safety concerns
Arjun Kapoor diagnosed with Hashimoto's Thyroiditis: 'I have something...'
Jhansi hospital fire: PM Modi condoles loss of lives, CM Yogi announces ex gratia for victims
Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight winner: YouTube star beats GOAT
Shillong Teer Result November 16, 2024: Know updates on lucky winning numbers
Mike Tyson vs Jake Paul fight fixed? Script 'leaked' showing exact round of knockout
Mukesh Ambani and Isha Ambani’s Tira Beauty: All you need to know about their luxury beauty venture
Vodafone Idea may soon serve its customers with bad news, here's what the company is planning
Narayana Murthy points out India's need to revive scientific innovations citing Israel's progress
Delhi-NCR air pollution in 'severe' category for third straight day, AQI crosses 436 in Anand Vihar