Blockbuster Bahubali by S.S. Rajamouli being adjudged the best feature film in the 63 rd National Awards has been criticised by Girish Kasaravalli, one of the pioneers of parallel cinema in India, for its “insensitive” portrayal of the subaltern communities.
Criticising the way the tribal people have been portrayed in Bahubali , Mr. Kasaravalli noted that the country has moved forward from the politics of looking at tribes as “uncivilised.” Selecting a film for the award which is “insulting to the community” is not right, he observed.
He was speaking at a function organised here to felicitate people from the Kannada film industry who have won national film awards. “The award given to Bahubali has already triggered a big debate in the social networking arena,” he added.
However, Mr. Kasaravalli said that he was not against selecting a popular film, as a few popular films have also dealt with societal issues earlier. But in selecting a film like Bahubali, the jury has “ignored the best regional language films, which touched upon issues plaguing society”, he said.
P. Sheshadri, who won eight national awards so far for his works, said the guidelines of film awards aims at encouraging the production of films of aesthetic and technical excellence and of social relevance. “Except technical excellence, what is the qualification of Bahubali in terms of social and cultural relevance?” he asked. Quoting French-Polish film maker, Roman Polanski, he added: “The awards are as good as jury.”
Taking a similar line, actor-turned-MLC Jaimala said that the jury had done great injustice to regional film by honouring Bahubali .