Fans of Akshay Kumar are very happy after they got the news of Khiladi Kumar getting National Award for Rustom; however, there are some who are raising fingers on the choice made by the jury, considering the fact that Aamir (Dangal), Amitabh (Pink) and Manoj Vajpayee (Aligarh) were also in the race.
Few people are also alleging that Akshay has got this award because the jury for the 64th National Awards was headed by filmmaker Priyadarshan, who has worked with Akshay in many movies, such as Hera Pheri, Bhool Bhulaiyaa, Garam Masala and Bhagam Bhag and shares a great camaraderie with the actor.
However, Priyadarshan totally denied these allegations and in return, asked as to why no one questioned Amitabh Bachchan’s selection for Best Actor when Ramesh Sippy headed the jury. In an interview with Mumbai Mirror, he said,
“Akshay Kumar deserved the award and so we gave it to him. There were a total of 38 jury members with me on this. How can you question the decision of so many people? Ramesh Sippy headed the jury last year. When he gave Best Actor to Amitabh Bachchan for Piku, why didn’t anyone question him?”
When he was asked about Aamir’s candidature, who already won many awards for his role of Mahaveer Singh Phogat in Dangal, Priyadarshan’s answer seemed a little weird, as he meant why to give an award to a person who wouldn’t come to take it. In his words,
“Aamir recently said that he wouldn’t personally accept the award if he is given one. If I remember, Aamir didn’t attend the ceremony when he won the award for Taare Zameen Par (The film bagged the National Film Award for Best Film on Family Welfare in 2008). So, why spoil it for some other actor who stood as good a chance of winning the award.”
Priyadarshan also clarified that Akshay was considered for Rustom and Airlift both but as per the rule, an actor can be given an award for one movie only, so Rustom was finalized. He has also added that at present, he is not working on any project with Akshay.
When he was asked about Aligarh which dealt with the sensitive issue of homosexuality, Priyadarshan said that it didn’t make into the final list of 89 movies and this time the regional movies did well in comparison to the Bollywood movies.
On the question of the controversy regarding his selection as the head of the jury of the 64th National Awards, he said,
“Even Satyajit Ray’s appointment was questioned. And if his appointment can be questioned, then so can anyone else’s!”
What do you think of Akshay Kumar winning the National Award? Do let us know in the comments section below.