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Kerala Minister V Sivankutty questions National Award snub for Aadujeevitham

Kerala Minister V Sivankutty questions National Award snub for Aadujeevitham

India Today04-08-2025
Kerala Education Minister V Sivankutty questioned why the Malayalam film 'Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life' featuring actor Prithviraj Sukumaran was completely ignored at the National Film Awards. He was indirectly referring to the controversy surrounding 'Empuraan' directed by Prithviraj.Sivankutty also asked if that was the reason behind Prithviraj not being considered for Best Actor award and the movie being completely ignored in all categories. Sivankutty, in a statement, said that though he likes actor Shah Rukh Khan, he felt that Prithviraj's performance in 'Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life' was more deserving.advertisementReacting to the Education Minister's concerns, the film's director, Blessy, said, "I had seen the Minister's response. I am happy that the Minister reacted in this manner. It's a reminder to society that it's not just my issue. Many people have reacted to it like him. As far as this film is concerned, I don't think this is an issue regarding me or this film of mine. So I don't want to complain about not getting an award for a film that I sent. Everyone knows that it's about some issues beyond this. What exactly is the reason behind it? Let society discuss it."
He further said, "See, when we make a film and the film receives great acceptance at state level, we will send it for National awards with expectations. We had expectations in all categories and what we know is around 14 nominations were sent from here. There is no point in making a statement that this was purposely ignored.""I read somewhere that the film failed to win awards because of its technical issues. That person who said this had called me when I was in Mumbai for Oscar campaigning. The chairperson said that he hadn't, seen a film that shot desert so beautifully after 'Lawrence of Arabia' film. He even invited me to lunch, but I couldn't go. So I don't know how someone who praised the film changed his opinion after he became the jury chairperson. Maybe he watched it the second time and felt his earlier opinion was wrong. That's what we can believe," the 'Aadujeevitham - The Goat Life' director added.One of the jury panel members, Pradeep Nair, reportedly revealed that Ashutosh Gowarikar felt that the film, which is an adaptation of the novel with the same title, had a few technical issues, lacked naturality and the performances didn't feel authentic.The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, 2025.- EndsMust Watch
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