Niharika Lal and Rachana Dubey (BOMBAY TIMES; April 14, 2018)

While addressing the press conference for the 65th National Film Awards, jury head Shekhar Kapur said that after films continuously watching for 10 days, his opinion about the quality of Indian cinema has changed. Shekhar said that even though regional cinema doesn’t have “a Shah Rukh Khan”, Hindi cinema doesn’t come close to it.

He said, “Maine Hindustan mein last film banayi thi Bandit Queen, usske baad maine yahan koi film isiliye nahi banayi because I wanted to make better films. For years, I have been watching Hindi films and I’ve been saying, ‘it’s not good enough’. Main kyun wapas aaya? Kyunki aage badhna chahiye, naye challenges lene chahiye. After 10 days of watching films from 9am to 3am, it has changed everything. I was wondering about the quality of films — not of Hindi cinema, but regional cinema, the cinema that has never come up before. I didn’t even know Lakshadweep mein filmein banti hain. Main nahi janta tha ki Assam mein aisi films banti hain. Mujhe nahi maloom tha ki Bengali films itni aage badh chuki hain.”

About the selection process for this year’s winners, Shekhar said, “There was no award which was not debated. Bahut aasaan hai award dena — chalo kisi ko bhi de do. Mujhe 12 saal lage thay Masoom banane mein, idhar se bheekh maang kar, udhar se bheekh maang kar. Regional cinema ke paas Shah Rukh Khan toh hai nahi! Ghar se chori karte hain, ghar se bhaag kar film institute chale jate hain aur phir jod-jod kar film banate hain. We took no film lightly.”

He also explained the choice for this year’s Best Actress award, which was posthumously given to Sridevi, saying, “Don’t think we are giving the award to Sridevi because I am part of the jury”. Shekhar added, “Main hi tha jo ladta tha ki Sridevi ko mat do. Because we are all emotionally involved with Sridevi. But I used to say, don’t give her the award because she passed away, because otherwise it is unfair to the others. Unki kya galti hai, they have also worked hard for 9-10 years to reach here. But each time, it came back to Sridevi.”
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This was long overdue for Sri. I wish she was here to hear the news and collect the award herself. It pains me to think that I will have to collect it on her behalf. Wherever she is today, she must be smiling.I miss my jaan every day and today, I’m missing her even more. Sri had worked so hard for Mom. She put life into every scene. She stayed away from me while shooting to avoid distraction; she wanted to concentrate on portraying the emotions correctly. I thank God and the jury for acknowledging her hard work

– Boney Kapoor, Sridevi’s husband and producer of Mom
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This is my first National Award.This award is very special for me because I lost my mother while working on Irada. My mother and other well-wishers have always said that I deserve a National Award. So, their reactions to my win are making me feel euphoric. I am totally overwhelmed. This is the ultimate award.

– Divya Dutta, Best Supporting Actress, Irada

The 65th National Film Awards:

1.BEST DIRECTOR: Jayaraj (Bhayanakam)

2. BEST BOOK ON CINEMA: Matmagi Manipur. (This is the first time that a book on Manipuri films has got an award)

3. BEST FILM CRITIC: Giridhar Jha

4. SPECIAL MENTION: Marathi Film: Mhorkya; Odia film: Hello Arsi; Malayalam: Take Off; Pankaj Tripathi for Newton

5. BEST REGIONAL FILM: Ladhakh

6. BEST MARATHI FILM: Kaccha Limbu

7. BEST MALAYAM FILM: Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

8. BEST HINDI FILM: Newton

9. BEST BENGALI FILM: Mayurakshi

10. BEST ASSAMESE FILM: Ishu

11. BEST TAMIL FILM: To Let

12. BEST TELUGU FILM: Ghazi

13. BEST GUJARATI FILM: DHH

14. BEST ACTION DIRECTION: Baahubali 2

15. BEST CHOREOGRAPHY: Gori Tu Latth Maar from Toilet - Ek Prem Katha (choreographer, Ganesh Acharya)

16. BEST SPECIAL EFFECTS: Baahubali 2

17. SPECIAL JURY AWARD: Nagarkirtan (Bengali)

18. BEST LYRICS FOR SONG: Muthu Ratna, for Kannada film March 22

19. BEST MUSIC DIRECTION: A R Rahman for Kaatru Veliyidai

20. BACKGROUND SCORE: A R Rahman for Mom

21. BEST MAKE-UP ARTISTE: Ram Razak for Nagarkirtan

22. BEST PRODUCTION DESIGN: Santosh Rajan

23. BEST EDITING: Rima Das (Village Rockstars)

24. BEST SCREENPLAY ORIGINAL: Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum

25. BEST ADAPTED SCREENPLAY: Jayaraj

26. BEST FEMALE PLAYBACK SINGER: Shasha Tirupati ( Vaan Varuvaan song)

27. BEST MALE PLAYBACK SINGER: Yesudas

28. BEST CHILD ARTIST: Bhanita Das (Village Rockstars)

29. BEST FILM ON SOCIAL ISSUES: Aalorukkam

30. NARGIS DUTT AWARD FOR BEST FEATURE FILM ON NATIONAL INTEGRATION: Dhappa