BIFFes: Controversy mars best Kannada film

Controversies are not new to the Bengaluru International Film Festival. Even this time, there have been allegations of lobbying for awards. Sources said there were allegations of pressure from vested interests to recognise certain movies. The selection list for the Kannada cinema competition category got leaked a day ahead of the official announcement and people started commenting on social media about “lobbying”.

‘Nanu Kusuma’, which won the first prize in the Kannada competition section, portrays the struggles of a woman who dreams of becoming a doctor but ends up getting raped.

Krishnegowda, former parallel Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce chairman who also produced another award-winning movie ‘Pinki Elli’, produced and directed this movie based on Kannada writer Besagarahalli Ramanna’s short story.

Questions have been raised about the movie’s direction. Shivakumar Swamy, the editor of the movie, said that the movie was directed by Murali P B, who is now credited as the co-director. “Krishnegowda told us to pay up the expenses and keep the film to ourselves. We told him the film is good, and he should not backtrack now,” he added.

But later, Swamy says Krishnegowda stole the credit for direction wrongfully. He says that initially, documents submitted to various agencies mentioned the name of the director as Murali. He accuses Krishnegowda of not paying the crew. “Many in the Kannada film industry are aware of it all but are not speaking out,” he says.

DH could not independently verify the claims. Murali and many others DH spoke to refused to comment on the issue.

Charges refuted

Krishnegowda refuted all accusations. “I have been in the industry for 28 years. I’m an all-rounder. I have been co-director and director, and have written screenplays for many films. ‘Nanu Kusuma’ has entered the Indian Panorama section at the International Film Festival of India in Goa. It was the only Kannada movie that competed for the ICFT UNESCO Gandhi Medal. It won the critics’ award at the Rajasthan film festival and was chosen for the Thrissur film festival. I don’t need to lobby to get this award,” he said.

“I have fought to bring dubbing cinema. We have 2,500 members in the Kannada Film Chamber of Commerce, and more than 65-70% of Kannada movies are made by us. People want to target me, they made sure ‘Pinki Elli’, a film that I produced, did not win the national award,” he added. He said people envy his record of producing award-winning movies, and he would sue people who accuse him of stealing the credits.

‘Allegations are common’

“There are allegations of lobby always in every award. I too have faced the same allegation when I won awards. But society needs to be with the winners in their celebrations. Such awards motivate many others to make better movies,” says B Suresha, award-winning director and actor.

“The names on the censored copy of the cinema are final. Many movies have ghost directors. When I began my career, I also ghost-directed many films. If someone wants to claim that he/she is the director, they should make sure their name is on the credits of the censored copy. The award is for the cinema, not for the director. Such things should be negotiated amicably or sorted out legally,” he added.

Ashok Kashyap, the Karnataka Chalanachitra Academy chairman, admitted to the existence of lobbies and political pressures but ruled out their influence on awards. He told Showtime that the juries are independent and do not like any interference in their decisions.