Palekar quits to ensure fair play at film awards

Pune: City-based actor and film-maker Amol Palekar, who was appointed chairman of the feature film jury for the 49th National Film Awards and Indian Panorama 2002 last week, has tendered his resignation in an effort to ensure fair play in the selection of films for awards.
Palekar told TNN that he had resigned after realising that the film Aks, in which he plays a small role, was in the running for an award in the feature film category.Rules laid down by the national film jury clearly state that any person connected with the selected films directly or indirectly will not be a part of the jury. “I trust my decision will be a role model for others,� Palekar added.
A total of 227 feature films made between 2001-02 are in the race to seek the country’s highest award in film-making. “Although it is the highest award in the country, sadly, Oscar awards are flashed as front page news while our own awards get sidelined,� Palekar said.
For the first time, he said, the name and credentials of all the 25 members from the jury have been disclosed. “Earlier, the names and credentials of the jury members were never disclosed. Consequently, selected films became a topic of controversy.�
Palekar said that the film selection procedures would be concluded in the next 20 days. “Results will be declared after that. Selection of films, irrespective of being parallel or mainstream cinema, will be entirely on the basis of how well the filmmaker has used the standard of film making, he said.
Latest reports say that Rajeshwari Sachdeva, Dolly Ahluwalia Tewari and Manmohan Mohapatra have voluntarily withdrawn as each of them was directly or indirectly associated with some film or the other. Members of the jury include Nabyendu Chatterjee, Sanjeev Hazorika and J.L. Ralhan. Latest developments state that eminent Malayalam filmmaker, K.S. Sethumadhavan will now head the feature film jury.