Awards are supposed to be the quintessential benchmark to assess an artist. But, not always in the ‘unique’ world of Mollywood. How high the name of an actor or technician figures in the list of favourites of associations or channels that give away awards also matters. Could that be why the award for the best debutant female actor went to none other than the daughter of a senior-most officer bearer of an association recently?
Then there is the phenomenon invented by television channels of gifting away best actor awards to reigning deities of the industry to keep them in good humour. While the State and national awards are followed by a flurry of allegations against the jury, these award declarations sail through smoothly.
For, there is no jury per se with awards being decided by Gallup polls, whereby film lovers are supposed to adjudicate winners. Since the findings of these polls are hardly ever made public, even the supposed voters could hardly question it. That brings us to the innovative way of gifting awards to stars in the limelight to ensure their presence in award ceremonies to add to the celebrity quotient of the event.
Not so long ago, a channel declared an actor winner of an award instituted by them. But she rejected the award and instead demanded money for turning up. The award went to another actor!
Staying a step ahead
It seems like piracy is no longer a lucrative business for those who made a living out of Mollywood’s latest releases. Producers and filmmakers seem to have learned from their many futile fights with pirates in the past, as DVDs of new movies now hit the market at a pace faster than the speed with which some movies disappear from theatres.
The idea is to maximise sales while the film is still fresh in the minds of audience. Recently, the DVD of the hit movie Bangalore Days was released while the film was still being screened in selected theatres. But the ploy seems to be a double edged sword with at least a section of the audience now waiting for the DVD release rather than watching it on big screens.
A sorrow for Malayalis
Clint will remain a sorrow for Malayalis always. He had died, in 1983, at the age of six, after leaving behind about 25,000 paintings. Paintings that belied his age.
Two decades after his death, veteran director Harikumar is making a film on the prodigy’s life.
“I felt Clint’s extraordinary life needed to be told on celluloid,” says the director of films such as Sukrutham, Ayanam and Udyanapalakan.
“A few days ago, I discussed the possibility of such a film with M.T. Vasudevan Nair, who also encouraged me to work on it.” Harikumar says he would start shooting the film later in the year.
“I am looking for a little boy to play Clint,” he says.
He says he would be using hundreds of paintings done by Clint in the film. “I had met Clint’s parents at their home in Kochi recently. I was bowled over by the quality of the paintings by the child,” he says.
