Actress Urvashi has been honoured with the Best Supporting Actress at the 71st National Film Awards for her role in the Malayalam film Ullozhukku
Still from Ullozhukku
Senior actress Urvashi was honoured in the Best Supporting Actress category for her performance in the Malayalam film Ullozkku. The winners of the 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1 by the jury members headed by chairperson Ashutosh Gowariker. Urvashi won for her performance as Leelamma in Christo T's film, which also starred Parvathy Thirvothu. However, the senior actress has slammed the decision to put her in the supporting actress category.
Urvashi slams National Award jury
Talking to Manorama News, Urvashi questioned the logic behind putting her under supporting category while she had equal roles in the fillm. "Is there any standard scale for acting? Or is it that after a certain age, this is all you’ll get?” said the senior actress after receiving the honour.
"This is not pension money to be silently accepted. How are these decisions made? What criteria is followed?” she questioned, adding that the honour should make the recipient proud instead of being handed over with no explanation.
Reportedly, she also called Union Minister and actor Suresh Gopi to investgate the process and advocate Malayalam cinema's rightful place.
Kerala CM condemns The Kerala Story honour at National Awards
The controversial film based on religious conversions in the state of Kerala was condemned by CM Vijayan and his party back when it was originally released in 2023. After the Awards were announced on Friday, the CM once again strongly opposed the film. Taking to X (formerly Twitter), he alleged that the move "lent credibility" to a narrative rooted in the "divisive" ideology of the Sangh Parivar.
The CM's tweet read, “By honouring a film that spreads blatant misinformation with the clear intent of tarnishing Kerala's image and sowing seeds of communal hatred, the jury of the National Film Awards has lent legitimacy to a narrative rooted in the divisive ideology of the Sangh Parivar. Kerala, a land that has always stood as a beacon of harmony and resistance against communal forces, has been gravely insulted by this decision."
Pinarayi also noted that the awards jury, by awarding the film, has insulted the tradition of Indian cinema that stood for "religious brotherhood" and national integration.
He added, "Through this, they are implementing the Sangh Parivar agenda of turning cinema into a weapon to implement the communal agenda. We strongly protest against this action. Every Malayali and all democratic believers in the country should raise their voice against this injustice. We must rally against politics that turn art into a weapon to foster communalism."
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