South jury member claims Mammootty’s movies were not submitted for National Film Awards

Filmmaker M.B. Padmakumar reveals none of Mammootty's films were submitted for 70th National Film Awards consideration.

Filmmaker M.B. Padmakumar, a jury member of the South panel for the 70th National Film Awards, has stated that none of the movies starring senior actor Mammootty were submitted before the jury.

“It is painful to say that none of the movies of the actor released in the year 2022 were submitted for consideration,” he said in a Facebook post on Friday (August 16, 2024).

Mr. Padmakumar was responding to allegations on social media that the actor would not receive any recognition under the present Union government led by the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). Rumours were strife that actors Mammootty and Rishab Shetty were engaged in a fierce competition for the best actor award. Mr. Shetty won the best actor award for his outstanding performance in the Kannada folk action thriller Kantara.

Mr. Padmakumar asked “who was responsible” for not submitting Mammootty’s movies, including the much-acclaimed Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam, before the jury. A few voices on social media seem purposefully generating such baseless allegations that his movies would not be considered, while the reality is that his films were not submitted for consideration, he said.

Mr. Padmakumar said that there was no pressure on the jury from the Centre on the selection process. It was a loss for Malayalam film industry that Mammootty’s movies were not submitted for consideration, he said.

Mammootty had won the best actor in the Kerala Film Awards 2022 for his performance in filmmaker Lijo Jose Pelliserry’s Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam helmedby the former’s production house Mammootty Kampany. He had also won applause for his roles in other movies, including Puzhu directed by Ratheena P.T., and Nissam Basheer’s Rorschach released in 2022.

George.S, executive producer at Mammootty Kampany, was not available for comment to confirm whether they had submitted Nanpakal Nerathu Mayakkam or any other movies of the actor before the jury of the 70th National Film Awards.