From All We Imagine As Light to Kishkindha Kaandam, these outstanding films deserved National Film Awards far more than several of this year’s winners.
Key Points
- Acclaimed films such as All We Imagine As Light, Manjummel Boys, Aavesham and Kishkindha Kaandam were among the biggest omissions at the 72nd National Film Awards.
- Despite earning critical acclaim, international recognition and commercial success, many of 2024’s finest films walked away empty-handed.
- We aren’t sure whether the makers of these films actually submitted them for consideration. Even if they didn’t, it says a lot about the current state of the National Film Awards that filmmakers no longer seem convinced it’s worth sending their best work.
The 72nd National Film Awards were announced on July 18. Even if you have followed these awards for years and are well aware of their declining standards when it comes to choosing winners, this year’s results would still have left you surprised.
The jury, headed by Malayalam filmmaker Jayaraj, somehow managed to outdo itself with some truly bizarre choices.
The biggest shocker was Pushpa 2: The Rule winning the Best Screenplay award, when the Telugu blockbuster’s writing has been its most widely criticised aspect.
Fans are also baffled that Mammootty, who delivered a masterful performance in the Malayalam film Bramayugam, had to share the Best Actor award with… ahem… Kartik Aaryan for Chandu Champion.
We aren’t saying Kartik Aaryan gave a bad performance in Kabir Khan’s film, but was it really among the year’s very best? And what’s with the growing trend of handing the Best Actor award to two performers? It was once meant to be a rarity, but has become almost the norm since 2018.
One of the actor’s other movies of that year, Bhool Bhulaiyaa 3, also took home Best Sound Design, though there were far stronger contenders for the same slot, one of them, also being Bramayugam.
Interestingly, in the National Awards’ ongoing obsession with Bollywood, Stree 2‘s item song Aaj Ki Raat (featuring Tamannaah Bhatia) won the Best Choreography. It feels like movies that are being chosen to be awarded depended on how good they are performing at the box office, which was never always the criterion for this process.
Apart from that, films with pro-government messaging or agendas also found favour with the jury. No one’s surprised.
But in the process, several outstanding films released during the eligibility period (movies censored between January and December 2024) were completely ignored.
Malayalam cinema, in particular, enjoyed a phenomenal year in 2024 and yet found itself badly overlooked. (PS: Prithviraj Sukumaran’s Aadujeevitham was censored the previous year, so it wasn’t eligible. Not that it won anything at the 71st National Film Awards either where it was eligible.)
Sreeju Sudhakaran looks at 10 such films that the National Film Awards jury completely ignored despite them towering over several of the eventual winners, in no particular order.
All We Imagine As Light
Language: Malayalam, Hindi
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
Imagine making India proud at Cannes 2024 by winning the Grand Prix, earning Golden Globe and BAFTA nominations, and then being completely and deliberately ignored at the National Film Awards.
We say ‘deliberately’, because it is no secret that there has been resistance towards Payal Kapadia‘s film, allegedly because of the director’s political stance.
That bias was evident already even when India overlooked it while selecting its official submission for the Best International Feature Film category at the Oscars.
Speaking of which…
Laapataa Ladies
Language: Hindi
Where To Watch: Netflix
I mean, you selected this film as India’s Oscar entry, effectively declaring it your best film of the year.
Yet, Kiran Rao’s delightful satire found itself left out in the cold at the National Film Awards, walking away without a single win.
What kind of paradoxical logic is this? At least Chhaya Kadam and Ravi Kishan deserved a fighting chance in the Best Supporting Actor categories.
Manjummel Boys
Language: Malayalam
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
Chidambaram’s survival thriller won audiences over with its technically accomplished filmmaking, excelling in cinematography, editing, production design and background score.
Yet, despite becoming one of Malayalam cinema’s most acclaimed blockbusters in recent times, Manjummel Boys couldn’t manage a single technical award.
There is a slight possibility that the Enforcement Directorate raids involving the producers and the sexual assault allegations against the director affected its prospects. But there is an equally strong possibility that the jury simply ignored the film for no good reason.
Aavesham
Language: Malayalam
Where To Watch: Prime Video and JioHotstar
If Bollywood can have two Best Actor winners in the same year, as it did in 2018 and 2023, why can’t Malayalam cinema have that privilege? And there was one performance in the industry that almost rivalled Mammootty’s in Bramayugam in terms of its impact.
Fahadh Faasil was electrifying as Ranganna in Jithu Madhavan’s black comedy Aavesham, delivering one of the finest lead performances of the year. Yet, he didn’t even get a Special Mention, forget an award.
The film also missed out in categories where it deserved serious consideration, particularly Best Screenplay (especially for its subversive use of ‘Show, Don’t Tell’) and Best Music Direction.
Meiyazhagan
Language: Tamil
Where To Watch: Netflix
Okay, I concede that Meiyazhagan did receive one recognition at the 72nd National Film Awards. It got a Special Mention for sound mix engineer Suren G. But that’s little more like a consolation prize.
This is particularly disappointing because C Prem Kumar’s film is easily one of the most heartwarming films of the past few years, elevated by superb performances from Arvind Swamy and especially Karthi.
It’s a huge L for Tamil cinema when comparatively average films like Captain Miller and Raayan attracted more attention from the jury.
Kishkindha Kaandam
Language: Malayalam
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
What makes Pushpa 2: The Rule winning Best Screenplay even more painful is that Malayalam cinema had such a worthy contender in Kishkindha Kaandam.
Dinjith Ayyathan’s film boasts a brilliant screenplay by Bahul Ramesh, outstanding performances from Vijayaraghavan and Asif Ali, and terrific cinematography, sound design and editing.
Yet, the jury were in no mood to reward it for any of its accomplishments.
Amar Singh Chamkila
Language: Hindi
Where To Watch: Netflix
I don’t think many fans would have objected had Mammootty shared the Best Actor award with Diljit Dosanjh for Imtiaz Ali’s biopic of the slain Punjabi folk singer.
But considering Diljit’s outspoken political views, and the Satluj controversy, perhaps it isn’t surprising if he wasn’t seriously considered.
Even then, there were several other categories where the film deserved recognition, including Best Hindi Feature Film, which went to the merely okay Srikanth, and Best Music Direction for A R Rahman, not to mention Sound Design, Best Background Score and Best Lyrics (Irshad Kamil for the hauntingly poignant Vida Karo).
Girls Will Be Girls
Language: English, Hindi
Where To Watch: Prime Video
Apart from All We Imagine As Light, another Indian film that made waves internationally in 2024 was Shuchi Talati’s debut feature Girls Will Be Girls.
Co-produced by actress Richa Chadha, the coming-of-age drama had received glowing reviews at Cannes 2024 and had also won the Audience Award in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition at the Sundance Film Festival.
Sadly, back home, Girls Will Be Girls received absolutely no love from the National Film Awards jury, who also overlooked the wonderful performances by Preeti Panigrahi and Kani Kusruti.
Vaazhai
Language: Hindi
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
Honest confession: I haven’t watched the Telugu film 35 Chinna Katha Kaadu, which won Best Children’s Film. Going by its reviews, I’m sure it was a deserving winner.
But that shouldn’t have meant completely overlooking Mari Selvaraj’s Vaazhai.
To be fair, Vaazhai is probably too dark to compete as a children’s film. It may feature a child protagonist, but it is very much a film aimed at adults, powerfully exposing the exploitation of unskilled labour in a moving and deeply tragic manner.
If the jury could make five children share the Best Child Artist award this year, why couldn’t they accommodate Ponvel M for his wonderfully natural lead performance? And Vaazhai deserved a better shot at winning Best Tamil Feature Film, along with Meiyazhagan, over Raayan.
Premalu
Language: Malayalam
Where To Watch: JioHotstar
Premalu may seem like just another breezy romantic entertainer, but it became a genuine phenomenon, not only in Kerala but across neighbouring states, eventually emerging as perhaps 2024’s most profitable blockbuster. More importantly, it earned rave reviews from critics.
The Girish AD romcom certainly felt like a far stronger contender for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment than the big-budget sci-fi spectacle that eventually won despite receiving mixed reviews upon release.
Honourable Mentions: Kill (Hindi), Kottukkaali (Tamil), Merry Christmas (Hindi), Saripodhaa Sanivaaram (Telugu), Lubber Pandhu (Tamil), I Want to Talk (Hindi).
PS: We aren’t sure whether the makers of these films actually submitted them for consideration. Even if they didn’t, it says a lot about the current state of the National Film Awards that filmmakers no longer seem convinced it’s worth sending their best work.
Photographs curated by Satish Bodas/Rediff
