Sibi Malayil Forced To Choose SRK Instead Of Mohanlal For National Award

Renowned Malayalam film director Sibi Malayil shared some surprising information about the 2009 National Film Awards. He was part of the jury then. The movie “Paradesi” was in the competition. 

Sibi Malayil said that this film deserved many awards, including Best Actor (Mohanlal), Best Director (P T Kunju Muhammed), Best Lyrics (Rafeeq Ahammed), and Best Singer (Sujatha). However, it only won the award for Best Make-up.

Shocking Bias in National Film Awards

The most shocking part of his revelation was about the Best Actor award. Sibi Malayil mentioned that the jury chairman suggested giving the award to Shah Rukh Khan instead of Mohanlal. 

The reason given was that it would make the award ceremony more glamorous. But finally, Shah Rukh Khan did not win the award that year.

Controversy in Best Singer Selection

Another incident involved the Best Singer award. Sujatha was initially chosen for her song in “Paradesi“. But a festival director from North India, after hearing about this, asked if the jury had not heard Shreya Ghoshal’s song from “Jab We Met”. He then played Shreya Ghoshal’s song for the jury, and they changed their decision, giving the award to her instead.

Southern Film Industry Challenges

Sibi Malayil shared these details at a cultural fest called ‘P T – Kalayum Kaalavum’, which was organized. He also talked about the Malayalam film industry’s achievements in competing with North Indian filmmakers.

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These incidents were kept secret for a long time, but now Sibi Malayil feels it’s important to share them. His revelations have brought attention to the challenges and biases regional films and artists often face in the entertainment industry, even for national-level awards.