Kaathal director, Jeo Baby, recently opened up about his film missing the National Awards. He went on to question the value and authenticity of the awards while calling out The Kerala Files, a film that bagged two awards
Kaathal director Jeo Baby
The 71st National Film Awards, which were announced on August 1, 2025, have sparked quite a few debates, discussions and controversies. Among the various conversations, three awards in particular have been widely discussed for all the wrong reasons. These include Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan - Jawan), Best Director (Sudipto Sen - The Kerala Story), and Best Cinematography (Prasantanu Mohapatra - The Kerala Story). The Kerala Story has been a topic of discussion among many. A few days ago, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the awards, and now, Malayalam film director Jeo Baby has lashed out at the National Awards for giving awards to The Kerala Story.
Jeo Baby's stance on The Kerala Story
For the unversed, Jeo's film Kaathal - The Core, was also among the frontrunners for National Awards this year. However, it ended up without any awards. During an interview with Hindustan Times, the filmmaker was asked if he is disappointed that his movie didn't win an award.
He stated, "Personally, I’ve no such disappointment. But the awards given to The Kerala Story, a movie that misrepresented facts, are hugely disappointing. Not only was the movie full of lies, but it was also shoddily made. The script, direction and acting were below par. Such misrepresentation of facts is quite scary."
Jeo Baby questions the value of National Awards
Further, while talking about the National Awards, the filmmaker noted, "For the past 10 years or so, we have seen this pattern. Movies that seem to back the agenda of the ruling parties have won awards at the national level."
He further slammed the jury, saying, "These awards seem to have no significance now, as they are encouraging plots and scripts that only the people in power believe in. Why have these awards when the movies cannot be treated on merit? What’s the value of these awards?"
When asked if the standards of the films have fallen, he said, "Awards to undeserving movies are an embarrassment. Our image internationally will be dented if this continues. It’s not fair to the domestic viewers either. Sometimes we send our entries only because we feel the technical crew should not miss out on winning a possible award."
He was asked if the jury faces pressure when giving awards, he said, "I’m not sure. Maybe they have instructions from the top."
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