‘We are showing our disappointment by being absent from the National Awards ceremony'

More than 60 National Award winners have decided not to attend the ceremony today evening at the Vigyan Bhawan. The awardees were in for a rude shock when they learnt at the rehearsals last evening that President Ram Nath Kovind will be handing over only 11 awards out from 118 categories. The rest will be awarded by Information & Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani, Minister of State, Information & Broadcasting Rajyavardhan Singh Rathore and Secretary, Information & Broadcasting Narendra Kumar Sinha.
Apart from directors Kaushik Ganguly and Atanu Ghosh, more than 10 recipients from Bengal have signed a letter expressing their inability to attend the function. Riddhi Sen, who will be getting the Best Actor award from the President for his performance in Ganguly’s “Nagarkirtan”, hasn’t signed this letter.
Director Indrani Chakraborty, whose ‘Ladakh Chale Rickshawala’ had been announced as the Best Exploration/Adventure Film, is one of those who has not decided to attend the programme. “We got to know about this decision last evening. However, all the letters that were issued to us had mentioned that the awards will be given away by the President of India. This snub is extremely disappointing for us. Getting the National Award from the President of India is a huge honour. That one photograph with the President is what any recipient treasures for the rest of his or her life. We have given a letter to a signed petition to the directorate of film festivals stating that we will be absent from the ceremony if the awards aren’t given to us by the President,” Chakraborty said.
What has upset the likes of Chakraborty is that this is a departure from the tradition that the National Awards have followed. “May 3 is Dadasaheb Phalke’s birth anniversary. That’s the day the National Award is held. Director Kaushik Ganguly told us that even last year, despite failing health, President Pranab Mukherjee was there to present the award to everyone. The absence of the President Kovind while presenting our awards is very disappointing,” Chakraborty added.
On criticisms that absence from the ceremony means dishonouring the National Award, Chakraborty said, “We are not boycotting the awards but being absent from the ceremony. We have all the respect for the jury and their decisions. By being absent from the ceremony, we are showing our discontent and disappointment for not being award by the President,” Chakraborty said.