Directors’ dilemma: To attend Nat’l Awards or not

Kolkata: When Vidushi Girija Devi’s daughter Sudha Dutta flew from Kolkata to Delhi to receive the National Award as a co-producer of ‘Girija’, she never anticipated a controversy.
Forty-eight hours and a trip to Vigyan Bhawan later, Dutta flew back to Kolkata with a citation and a Rajatkamal in her suitcase. She was a tad unhappy about not receiving the award from the President.But she also insisted that getting it from Smriti Irani didn’t seem like a dishonour to the legend.
The three directors of the documentary — Debapriya Adhikary, Samanwaya Sarkar and Sankalp Meshram — were in Delhi but stayed away from the Vigyan Bhawan function. Adhikary and Sarkar are both disciples of the vocalist. Said Adhikary: “None of us was intimated that the President wouldn’t be giving us the award when we came down from Kolkata. That left us disappointed.”
However, the directors di-dn’t stop the producers from attending. “We told Sudhadi she could always go. But we three directors of ‘Girijia’ stayed away to support our fraternity,” Adhikary said.
According to Dutta, she and her US-based producer Madhu Chandra, too, had reached Delhi hoping to receive the award from the President. “We went to the cerem-ony because we felt the award was being given by the country. The jury members had selected our documentary,” Dutta said.
Before the National Awa-rd, the documentary had pic-ked up two awards abroad. The National Award for Best Arts/Cultural Film was the icing on the cake. Remembering the iconic singer’s words, Dutta said: “My mother would always say ‘never disrespect an award even if it is given in the form of flowers’. Presidents will come and go. But the recognition will always stay.”
Even in case of Farha Khatun, Satarupa Santra and Sourabh Kanti Dutta’s ‘I Am Bonnie’ that won the Best Non Feature Film award on Social Issues, only Khatun went to Vigyan Bhawan to receive the award. “I am in solidarity with the directors who didn’t attend the programme. As a young woman filmmaker and first-time National Award winner, I am heart-broken to have not received the award from the President as it has been a tradition for decades. I am a new member of the Films Division – an organisation I deeply believe in and am committed to. Hence, I couldn’t do an-ything to embarrass the institution I serve,” she said.
Dutta, on his part, “Satarupa and I understand her situation where she couldn’t physically be with us. But we know she supports our cause. There were a number of films from Films Division whose directors didn’t attend the event. But representatives from Films Division went ahead,” Dutta said.
Director Indrani Chakraborty, whose Films Division documentary titled ‘Ladakh Chale Rickshawala’ won the Best Exploration/Adventure Film, also gave the event a miss. “I told my son that I am going to Delhi to get the award. But I am returning home disappointed and empty-handed.”