Nandi award-winning film raises eyebrows

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">HYDERABAD: Well-known director B Narsing Rao ended up in the eye of a controversy during the announcement of the Nandi film awards on Wednesday for his depiction of a minor girl in his film <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Harivillu</span>.<br /><br />The children''s film, which has a sequence in which a boy''s roving eye catches a glimpse of his maid servant''s bare thighs, got Narsing Rao the best director award.<br /><br />Asked if the award was appropriate, jury chairman Gummadi Venkateshwara Rao said, "The scene was the only black spot in the film.The jury debated it but still decided to give the award to Narsing Rao because the film was good overall.<br /><br /></div> </div><div class="section2"><div class="Normal">Every aspect of the film was taken into consideration by the jury." Narsing Rao, who has directed or produced several mature films such as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Maa</span> <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bhoomi</span>, <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Rangula</span> <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Kala</span> and the national award-winning <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Daasi</span> said the scene should not be seen out of context.<br /><br />Harivillu, produced by D Rama Naidu, tells the story of an 11-year-old boy who has a serious ailment. From his sick bed, he gives furtive glances at the exposed thighs of the maidservant who is of the same age. Explaining the scene, Narsing Rao said the girl is shown washing her feet. In the process a part of her things are exposed. "This is natural. The boy was just being curious. I could not have shown the scene in an artificial way."</div> </div>