IMO its high time both Mammotty and Mohanlal stopped participating in the state awards race, like Yesudas , Lata Mangeshkar, Kamal Hassan (Filmfare) etc have. But until they do, I guess all this ruckus will continue.

Urvasi certainly did not deserve this award, that much I can say for sure. I had the misfortune of seeing that horrible movie in a theatre, and have sworn over all Rajasenan movies hereafter. This was surely one of her worst performances!

But in the case of Pritvi, I have a soft corner for this guy. It is not a secret that he has very few friends inside film fraternity, and this chap was long way fighting for his case. And this unofficial ban was not be cause of his lack of talent. There was none to cry foul when he was suffering because of this isolation. When he is getting his second recognition (I would consider classmates as his first recognition) the same people are making a fuzz all over. Eventhough I was expecting Mammootty to get award this time, I am more than happy to hear the final result. After all, no one can give the award satisfying everyone.

(3) What did the jury mean by second best actor/actress? Logically second position means the position just after first position. In the final round there were only Prithvi and Sreeni. Prithvi got Best actor award. So naturally Sreeni is the second best actor. But they gave award to Saikumar. What is the basis of this selection? Do the second best actor act in different style to get this award?

Same thing happened in the case of actress. In the final there were only Urvashi and Khushboo.. Urvashi got the award…and naturally Khushboo is the second best…. But they gave award to Padma… They have to announce the parameters they have used to give this award.

(4) How can they give awards to Prithvi and Urvashi at the same time?
They gave award to Prithvi for encouragement. So they should take the same criteria for actress also. They should give encouragement to Padma for “Karutha Pakshikal” or Sindhu Menon for “Puli janmam”.
They gave award to Urvashi. She is an established actress. And it was a average or below average performance by Urvashi. Rajeevkumar openly said that they didn’t see any better performance from Mammootty or Lal this year compared to their old performances. Same principle should apply for Urvashi also… Do they think her performance in this year is better than her old performances ?

It clearly shows their double standard……….. The government should stop this kind awards or should select knowledgeable people as Jury members.

Glad to see you’re writing for VC.

I agree with your thoughts here about the awards.

I do honor your opinion, but have to point out that your statement regarding my review of Vasthavam is slightly wayward.

“you didnt find much in it to appreciate Prithviraj’s acting”

If you had taken some time to give it a thought, you could have seen that I havent for a moment expressed my doubts regarding Prithvi’s acting potentials. I had serious issues with Vasthavam as a film, and not Prithvi as an actor. And neither am I trying to run down his performance; in fact I have suffered through unutterable atrocities like Pakal and Avan Chandyude Makan, just to see the young, promising actor in action.

But somehow it doesnt make sense to me say that just because Prithvi (read new talent) gave a career best performance in Vasthavam (which I refuse to accept; he was immensely better in several other flicks) it gives a jury the right to degrade another performance, thats miles and miles ahead.

And no, I would still vote for Khushboo as the best actress, for the kind of sensitivity that she lent to Padma. The nuances of her portrayal cannot just be brushed aside for petty reasons as have been pointed out.