Saeed Mirza to head Kerala Film Award jury

Screenwriter and filmmaker Saeed Akhtar Mirza, one of the faces of Indian parallel cinema from the 1970s onwards, will head the jury to decide the Kerala State Film Awards for 2021. The government has issued an order appointing the jury. These will be the second film awards after amending the rules to introduce a two-level mechanism for the jury in the wake of an increase in entries for the awards.

Mirza’s angsty movies in the 1980s, including Salim Langde Pe Mat Ro, Albert Pinto Ko Gussa Kyoon Aata Hai and Mohan Joshi Hazir Ho, came to symbolise the disenchantment that had set in against the system after the initial heady years of hope post-independence. Naseem, released in 1995, chronicled the communal ruptures in society in the days leading up to the demolition of the Babri Masjid. A winner of National Film Awards, he had also headed the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) in Pune.

Filmmaker and critic K.Gopinathan and filmmaker Sundar Das will head the two sub-committees for the preliminary stage of the assessment. They will also be members of the main jury, which wil also consist of filmaker Suresh Triveni, playback singer Bombay Jayashri, cinematographer Fowzia Fathima and sound designer Hareendranath Dwarak Warrier. The preliminary adjudication committee also consists of documentary filmmaker and former Doordarshan Deputy Director Baiju Chandran, writers V.R.Sudheesh and Susmesh Chandroth, sound designer Gissy Michael, filmmaker and screenwriter Sangeetha Padamanabhan and cinematographer Venugopal.

State Chalachitra Academy Secretary C.Ajoy will be a member of the preliminary as well as main juries as the member secretary. Film critic V.K.Joseph will chair the jury that decides the award for best book and article on cinema. Journalist Manila.C.Mohan, film critic and screenwriter Aju K.Narayanan and Mr.Ajoy will be the other members. A total of 142 films have been submitted for the film awards this year, out of which seven are children’s films. The jury screenings will begin on April 28.