2 environmental film awards, debut director, special mention for Indrans: Kerala in 69th NFA
Kochi: Kerala made only a limited influence at the 69th National Film Awards (for the year of 2021), announced Thursday.
Krishand’s ‘Aavasavyuham’ was selected as the best film on environment conservation/preservation in the feature film section. The movie was selected as the best film at the Kerala State Film Awards, 2022.
Meanwhile, in the non-feature section, ‘Moonnam Valavu’, directed by RS Pradeep Kumar, won the award for best environmental film. The production had received a special mention from the jury of the 30th Kerala State Television Awards, in the documentary category.
‘Kandittundu’ (Seen It), a short film directed by Adithi Krishnadas, was selected as the best animation film in the non-feature film section.
Shahi Kabir’s screenplay for the movie ‘Nayattu’ was selected as the best original screenplay. The movie, starring Joju George, Kunchako Boban, and Nimisha Sajayan, was directed by Martin Prakkat. Shahi had also bagged the prize for Best Story at Kerala State Film Awards, 2022.
Vishnu Mohan, director of ‘Meppadiyan’, was awarded the Indira Gandhi Award for best debut director. The movie, also written by Vishnu, was produced by Unni Mukundan. The lead role was played by Unni himself.
The best Malayalam movie of 2021, in the eyes of the jury, is ‘Home’. Actor Indrans received a special jury mention for his performance in the film. After the film failed to win any awards at the Kerala State Film Awards, 2022, Indrans had said that he hoped he would win best actor that year. The popularity of the film gave many critics to the state awards jury.
The film's producer, Vijay Babu, was in news for being accused of sexually assaulting a colleague. Indrans, in response to the awards, asked whether it was right to punish everyone in a family for the wrongdoing of one member. However, there was no official clarification if the film was deliberately left out. Congress leaders also made public comments about it, making it a political controversy.
Indrans has received state awards on two prior occasions. A Special Jury Award for the film 'Appothikkiri' in 2015 and best actor for 'Alorukkam' in 2018.
At the 68th National Film Awards, Kerala had won 10 accolades, including special mentions.