The Kerala High Court on Monday directed the State government and the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy to respond to a petition filed by actor Salim Kumar challenging the decision of the academy not to place his documentary film Pokkali before the judging committee for selection of films for the 2011 State awards.
In his petition, the actor said the decision of the academy was illegal and arbitrary. He contended that by this decision, the academy had excluded his film from the zone of consideration of the judging committee. As a result, his film was not screened before the committee, even though he had submitted his film along with the necessary documents before the deadline.
