Kerala Film Awards: Row over no awards in children’s category

Kochi: The decision of the jury of the 55th Kerala State Film Awards to not give any awards under the children's category has stirred a controversy. Defending the decision, actor and jury chairperson Prakash Raj and culture minister Saji Cherian said that the children's movies submitted for the award were not worthy of recognition. Raj added that the jury "did not find a single attempt to make a children's film". Responding to this, Vinesh Viswanath, the director of the children's movie ‘Sthanarthi Sreekuttan', shared a poster of the child artists in the movie on social media with the caption, "In a world of no worthy entries for Best Child Actor, they stand tall." The movie, which won critical acclaim upon its release in theatres and OTT platforms, was submitted as an entry for the award. Meanwhile, child artist Devananda took to social media to criticize the jury's decision. "You can turn a blind eye to children, but don't say it's completely dark here. Children are part of this society, and with the announcement of the 2024 Malayalam cinema awards, the jury has turned a blind eye to the next generation. The nominated movies ‘Sthanarthi Sreekuttan', ‘Gu', ‘Phoenix', ‘ARM' and many other films have featured child actors. Instead of ignoring two children for awards, there should be an effort to encourage more children's films. If two children received the award, it could inspire many more," she said. Meanwhile, Cherian echoed Prakash Raj's views. He also said the govt would intervene to ensure the quality of children's films. Minister clarifies Vedan remarks Meanwhile, Cherian's remarks on rapper Vedan receiving the best lyricist award kicked off another controversy. On Tuesday, the minister said that the govt considered ‘even' Vedan for the award. In a clarification, Cherian said, "There are many talented lyricists in the industry. In such a place, if the jury accepted a good song written by Vedan, it means the govt has the mindset to accept it. The word ‘even' should not be twisted," he said later.