24 Jan, 2010 12:09 pm ISTlHimanshi Dhawan/TNN
Attempts to influence members of the jury, cloistered in an undisclosed location most of the time as they view the shortlisted works, have for long been known to be part of the game, but it was left to Pachauri—jury member for adjudging best writing in cinema—to say it in public for the first time.
Talking about the entries for the 56th National Film Awards, Sudhish Pachauri digressed, saying: “Participants should refrain from calling jury members.’’ When asked to specify if he or his colleagues had been contacted in a bid to influence their decision, Pachauri said: “I am saying this because we have been contacted. However, the jury members remained independent in their views and chose the winners objectively.’’ He added that participants whose names were shortlisted had attempted to get in touch with the jury and not any member of the I&B ministry.
Reacting to the statement, I&B minister Ambika Soni said: “I have already asked him to clarify that no person from my ministry contacted the jury. For the participants, I think the statement by Pachauriji is embarrassment enough.’’
The National Film Awards itself is no stranger to controversy. For NFA 2007, the names were leaked by a jury member a week before the actual announcement was scheduled to take place. The jury member broke protocol and put up the names on his website, setting off a furore among officials of the Directorate of Film Festivals and the I&B ministry. The awards for the previous years have been delayed after the I&B ministry introduced a new clause mandating that a censor certificate was required for the films participating in the non-feature film category.
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