Shinos Rahman, one of the directors of Vasanthi, which won the best film award at the Kerala State Film Awards this year, was probably taken by surprise by the declaration. He was one of the three petitioners who had recently filed a writ petition at the Kerala High Court accusing the Kerala State Chalachitra Academy of nepotism. They also alleged that the academy had rushed through the screening process for the awards.
Plea dismissed
The High Court had dismissed the petition last week saying that the Chairman or the Executive Board of the academy could not influence the outcome of the competition.
The court added that jury members were eminent personalities in film and allied fields. To exclude any possibility of bias in the selection of films for award, the regulations mandated that all jury members should submit a signed affidavit in the prescribed format stating non-involvement of them or any of their relatives in the entries.
