‘Turned blind, denied rights’: Actor Devanandha slams jury after no child artiste awards

The 2024 Kerala State Film Awards have drawn sharp criticism after the jury decided not to give the Best Child Artiste awards (male and female), citing the absence of children-centric films among the submissions. This decision has sparked backlash from actors, filmmakers, and members of the Malayalam film community.

Jury chairman Prakash Raj had stated that awards for child actors should only go to films told from a child’s perspective. At the awards press conference, he reiterated that the jury found no submissions that met this criterion.

However, child actor Devanandha, who rose to fame through the film Malikappuram, condemned the decision on social media. She wrote, "You can turn a blind eye to children but don't say that it's all dark here. Children are part of society, and the jury’s decision turns a blind eye to the next generation. The 2024 Kerala State Film Awards have ignored children.

Devanandha highlighted that several films, such as Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, Gu, Phoenix, and ARM, featured child actors. “It is not by denying awards to two child actors that the jury should bat for more films in perspective of children. Recognising a few children could have inspired many more.”

"I strongly condemn jury chairman who denied rights of children despite his remarks that children are a part of society and they should be given more opportunities," her Instagram post read.

Filmmakers whose child-focused films were submitted also spoke out. Vinesh Viswanath, director of Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, actor Anand Manmadhan, and Sreekanth E.G., director of School Chale Hum, criticised the jury for overlooking their films despite featuring performances by child actors.

Sreekanth E.G. pointed out that at least five films, including School Chale Hum, were true children-centric stories, submitted specifically for the children’s category.

“Our film, School Chale Hum, tells a children’s story. To my knowledge, at least five films, including ours, were submitted for the children’s category. Not awarding them discourages filmmakers from making children-focused cinema,” he said.

Anand Manmadhan shared the poster of Sthanarthi Sreekuttan to highlight his critique, while Vinesh Viswanath also pointed out that their films were submitted but ignored