Thiruvananthapuram: The controversy surrounding external influence in the Kerala State Film Awards took a dramatic turn on Tuesday when a jury member lent support to Director Vinayan's allegations of Director Ranjith's meddling to block awards for film 'Pathonpatham Noottandu'.

An audio recording of a senior jury member and sub-jury chairman Nemom Pushparaj claiming that Ranjith had tried to influence the jury panel and the veteran director doesn't deserve to lead Kerala State Chalachitra Academy. 

In the audio clip released by Vinayan, Nemam Pushparaj claims the majority of the jury members had a pre-planned goal concerning not to grant any accolades to 'Pathonpatham Noottandu'. 

He further argued that he was mentally disturbed by consenting to the jury's ruling on the topic and that as an art director, he cannot concur with the assertions that Vinayan's film lacked proper art direction. 

Meanwhile, Minister Saji Cheriyan backed Ranjith and dismissed allegations against the malpractices in the film award.