Shaji Karun on Amitabh Bachchan winning National award for Paa over Mammootty in Kutty Srank: ‘They probably didn’t want a single film to win 6-7 awards’

Legendary director Shaji N Karun feels Mammootty not winning the National award for Best Actor was more to do with market forces than just on the basis of performance

By: Entertainment Desk

Chennai | Updated: December 2, 2024 12:55 PM IST

2 min read

Shaji N Karun on Mammootty's snub at the National awards 2010

Filmmaker Shaji N Karun’s Malayalam films and the National awards have a long-standing relationship. Right from his first film, Piravi (1988), almost every film of his has won atleast one National Award. Piravi won four, including two for Shaji, and one for the lead actor, Premji. His next, Swaham (1994), won Shaji a special Jury award, and Vanaprastham (1999), won three, including a Best Actor nod for Mohanlal. When the audience watched his maiden collaboration with Mammootty in Kutty Srank (2010), it was clear that the legendary actor would take home his fourth National award.

However, despite winning five National awards for Best Feature Film, Best Original Screenplay, Best Cinematography, Best Costume Design, and a special Jury award for Best Editing, the fourth National award for Best actor eluded Mammootty. “Awards increase the marketability of an actor, and a film can be marketed with the Best Actor win. That is why I think Mammootty didn’t make the cut,” said Shaji in an interview with Movie World Media.

That year’s Best Actor award was given to Amitabh Bachchan for his performance in Balki’s Paa. Delving deeper into the National awards and its selection, Shaji said that these awards increased the market value of an actor, and it can often be used as promotions for the film. Paa won National awards for Best Actor (Amitabh Bachchan), Best Supporting Actor (Arundhati Nag), Best Hindi feature film, and Best Makeup.

“They probably thought a single film cannot win 6-7 awards, and decided to share it among other contenders,” pointed out Shaji as he believed this to be one of the reasons why Mammootty didn’t receive the Best Actor award.

ALSO READ: Mammootty turns 73: 10 non-Malayalam films that make him the most inventive and diverse Indian superstar

Meanwhile, Mammootty has been awarded the top prize in 1990 (Mathilukal, Oru Vadakkan Veeragatha), 1994 (Ponthan Mada, Vidheyan), and 2000 (Dr Babasaheb Ambedkar). While Amitabh Bachchan leads the list with four wins, Mammootty is tied with Kamal Haasan and Ajay Devgn with three wins each.

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