Urvashi Slams 71st National Film Award Jury For Awarding Her In Supporting Category: "This Is Not Pension Money To Silently Accept"
Urvashi won the Best Supporting Actress award at the 71st National Film Awards for her role as Leelamma in Christo Tomy's Ullozhukku, released in 2024. The film also stars Parvathy Thiruvothu in a lead role.
What's Happening
In an interview with Manorama News, Urvashi expressed her gratitude for the recognition but also raised questions about how her role was classified.
Urvashi questioned the decision to place her in the supporting category, especially when both she and Parvathy were contenders for Best Actress. "Is there any standard scale for acting? Or is it that after a certain age, this is all you'll get?" she asked.
She further added, "This is not pension money to be silently accepted. How are these decisions made? What criteria is followed?"
Background
Urvashi noted that this wasn't the first time such a decision had been made in her career. She recalled winning Best Supporting Actress for the 2006 film Achuvinte Amma, in which she played the lead.
She pointed to similar issues back then, stating there were "politics" involved and that she has always focused on doing meaningful cinema rather than lobbying. Urvashi also urged Union Minister Suresh Gopi to look into the matter and support Malayalam cinema's rightful place in the national arena.
The 71st National Film Awards were announced on Friday night. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey were jointly awarded Best Actor, while Rani Mukerji won Best Actress. 12th Fail won Best Film.
This year, several members of the Malayalam film industry have voiced concerns over perceived snubs. Actor Prithviraj Sukumaran's performance in Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life was one such omission. Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan also criticised The Kerala Story receiving a National Award.
Among the Malayalam winners, Ullozhukku was awarded Best Malayalam Film. 2018 won Best Production Design, and Pookkaalam received the award for Best Editing. Vijayaraghavan won Best Supporting Actor for his performance in the film.
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