The Kannada film fraternity is desperately waiting for the gala ceremony organised by the Karnataka government to confer its prestigious annual State Film Awards from the past five years.
But it appears like chief minister Basavaraj Bommai, who recently announced 100% tax exemption to ‘The Kashmir Files’, apart from participating in the Bengaluru International Film Festival (Biffes), has no time to listen to the woes of Kannada cinema and confer the announced awards.
Five years ago, Siddaramaiah, who was the Congress chief, made a culturally historic announcement that the Karnataka State Film Awards will be presented annually on April 24 (the birth anniversary of Kannada matinee idol Dr Rajkumar) every year. He made this promise while conferring the Awards for 2014 and 2015. Siddaramaiah kept up his promise and gave away the Awards for 2016 on April 24, 2017.
The Karnataka government had constituted Experts’ Committees to select the qualitative Kannada and other sub-regional films produced in Karnataka for 2017 and 2018. The committee had submitted a list of films and film personalities chosen for the award. But the artistes are yet to get their prizes.
While the government is attributing Covid-19 and legal complications for not presenting awards for 2017 and 2018, the film fraternity is disputing this claim. Few awardees are arguing that ‘it is a known fact that Covid-19 outbreak happened at the beginning of 2020’.
Interestingly, the Experts’ Committees constituted by the government are yet to watch and select films produced and released in 2019, 2020, and 2021. The film fraternity is upset with the government for its apathetic attitude towards Kannada cinema.
Some filmmakers, whose films have been chosen for the awards in 2017 and 2018, are blaming the cinema bodies, including the Karnataka Film Chamber of Commerce, the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy, and the Karnataka Film Artists’ Association (KFAA), for not effectively impressing the government.
Kudlu Ramakrishna, the award-winning director for 2017, says, “Award winners might have forgotten the fact that their films were declared winners.” A filmmaker, who spoke on the condition of anonymity, regretted that “the chief minister is busy watching ‘The Kashmir Files’ and pleasing his constituency. He has no time to look into the matter”.
The film fraternity feels Kannada cinema, which ranks fifth in terms of the annual output of films in India, is probably not a priority for the Department of Information and Public Relations, which controls cinema and its activities. “There is a lack of willingness and commitment to respect and honour cinema, which is the most powerful medium’’, says National Award-winning filmmaker BS Lingadevaru, citing Kerala, where the government celebrates cinema.
“The Kerala State government, which supports cinema more than any other government in the country, should be a model for Karnataka. Even when the state was reeling under the effect of the pandemic, the government gave away awards to artistes”, he pointed out. Many filmmakers sought to know why Kerala has not become a model for Karnataka.
“In the interest of Kannada cinema, awards should be conferred in time. It is time for film representing the bodies, including the Academy, to take cognizance of the issue and impress upon the government to act on the issue,” observes renowned filmmaker P Sheshadri.
“The government has completely neglected Kannada cinema and the sad state of the annual awards is a testimony for our allegation, regrets Rockline Venkatesh, Secretary, KFAA and a veteran film producer.
M Jayaraj, president, KFCC, refuted the allegations that the association has filed to communicate with the government regarding the issue. “We submitted a memorandum to the chief minister. He assured me of looking into it”.
Responding to the issue, a senior official in the Department of Information and Public Relations, asserts, “Preparations are on to present awards for 2017 and 2018 on April 24. But one film is troubled by a court case and the government is trying its best to vacate the stay”. If the government’s version has an iota of truth, then the film fraternity can finally heave a sigh of relief.
(The writer is a Bengaluru-based senior journalist).