Big gham for bigwigs at film awards

<div class="section1"><div class="Normal">NEW DELHI: May the best entry win... The dream may’ve come true, going by the lack of acrimony over the 49th National Film Awards. <br />This, despite the host of big names that have fallen by the wayside. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mitr My Friend</span> is perhaps the best example of this. The winner in the English category left out a veteran like Govind Nihalani, whose<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> Deham</span> was based on Manjula Padmanabhan’s award winning play <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">The Harvest.</span><br />Nagesh Kukunoor’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bollywood Calling</span> did not stand a chance, either. Shyam Benegal’s name flickered on the screen and then disappeared. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Chirayu,</span> a Hindi entry which bears his signature along with names like Sai Paranjpye, Aziz Mirza, Santosh Sivan and A.K. Bir, sunk without a trace. In the film made for the Children’s Film Society, the directors strung together the experiences of children affected by the Gujarat earthquake. Chirayu did not qualify even in the children’s film category and the award was held back. <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Gadar, </span>released on the same day as <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Lagaan</span>, had won the battle of the box office but lost the war of the Lotus. Ditto the fate of<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham</span>, which hoped to be noticed for its imposing sets, if nothing else. <br /><span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Lagaan</span> left no hopes for so many others, making Aamir Khan the highest scorer in the National Film Awards so far. And yet, its makers are not beaming: they’ve missed the four major awards – for the best film, best director, best actor and best actress. <br />Sivan’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Asoka </span>could have been a strong contender for cinematography, but failed to get through the primaries. Bawandar lost out in the Other Social Issues category to Chandni Bar. So did <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Lajja,</span> leaving Santoshi shamefaced. <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Aks’ </span>is a sorry tale of losing all round. His one-minute role cost Amol Palekar the chairmanship of the Feature Films jury. But Big B lost the battle for the Best Actor and the other B (Manoj Bajpai) for the supporting actor. Soumitra Chatterjee rejected the Jury’s Award last year for Dekha.<br />This year, an even better performance in Sanjhbatir Roopkathara went unnoticed.<br />Mahesh Manjrekar is another stout loser. Three entries in one year but no luck. Likewise Jayaraaj, the star director of the Malayalam screen. <br />Patterned on the concept of Kieslowski’s <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Decalogue, </span>he has been filming stories that highlight the navarasas. Karunam had won national and international awards; Shantam too was accoladed.<br />But <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Bibhatsa</span> in Hindi got a thumbs down from the jury. His Malayalam entry Kannaki fared no better.<br />Tapan Sinha’s<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> Daughters of the Century</span> and Basu Chatterjee’s<span style="" font-style:="" italic=""> Tak Jhal Mishti</span> were left out in the cold. If they can lose out, one isn’t surprised about Singeetam Srinivas Rao of <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Pushpak.</span> Nor about <span style="" font-style:="" italic="">Mokol Ni Pohor</span>, the first Tripura film entered for a Kamal.<br />But one is surprised – pleasantly so – that Veer Savarkar too is missing in action. </div> </div>