‘Films are not made for juries’: Prithviraj Sukumaran on Aadujeevitham snub at National Film Awards 2025

Prithviraj himself has now spoken out on the controversy, maintaining that he values audience reception over any awards. “A film is not made for ten people to sit and grade it or for a jury to judge. Nor is it created only for international festivals, though those are certainly valuable. But at the end of the day, movies are made for the audience – for people who buy a ticket, come to theatres, and enjoy the experience. In that sense, the viewers have already given Aadujeevitham its biggest award. For that, I am grateful,” he said at a public event in Sharjah, Onmanorama reported.

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Mounted on a reported budget of Rs 82 crore, Aadujeevitham grossed Rs 157.35 crore worldwide, according to industry tracker Sacnilk. An adaptation of author Benyamin’s 2008 best-selling Malayalam novel of the same name, the movie currently ranks as the fifth-highest-grossing Malayalam film of all time. It features music by Oscar-winning composer AR Rahman, cinematography by Sunil KS, and editing by A Sreekar Prasad.