The Filmfare Awards were held last weekend in Ahmedabad, awarding the best Hindi films of 2024. Laapataa Ladies won the Best Film award (along with 12 other trophies). Abhishek Bachchan and Kartik Aaryan shared the Best Actor in Leading Role Male trophy, and Alia Bhatt took home Best Actress. The Kerala Story director Sudipto Sen has now slammed the awards, saying that they are ‘tamasha’ in the name of cinema.
What Sudipto Sen said
Taking to his Instagram account, Sudipto shared a note on Filmfare Awards, which read, “This year Filmfare truly is an expose of Indian ‘nouvelle vague’… A blatantly plagiarised film… a film which is a tutorial of brutality and a film which did not survive the box office for more than 72 hours took away most of the crowns. As expected the best work of 2024 remain elusive. Realised, why Filmfare was so vocal against The Kerala Story receiving National Awards. I am happy that this ‘wood’ community does not recognise, invite or choose us.”
He added, “We are spared from faking smiles, faking comradier, and most importantly, not indulging in any sycophancy. In the end- I am happy that we are saved from hobnobbing with this tamasha in the name of cinema in Mumbai and clicking selfies in Cannes. Atleast we are saved from these ugly hypocrisies and fake tapestry in the name of cinema.”
In the caption, Sudipto wrote: “I never expect anything great from any Indian cinema establishment, particularly when it is media or cinema journalism. Mostly enamored by the glamor and rich-world of the stars, exactly the way people from villages and small cities gather in front of Mr. Bachchan or SRK’ house.
They actually have ZERO contribution towards cinema, cinema art, the way world media does for world cinemas.”
Although Sudipto did not name the films, the film which he is referring to as ‘blatantly plagiarised’ is Laapataa Ladies, the one with ‘tutorial of brutality’ is Kill, and the one which ‘did not survive the box office for more than 72 hours’ is I Want To Talk.
Last month, Sudipto was awarded the National Award for Best Director for The Kerala Story, and the film also won the award for Best Cinematography. The Kerala Story tells the story of a group of women from Kerala who were forced to convert to Islam and join ISIS.
