The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, 2025. Like every year, this year also the winners have become the topic of discussion. Three awards that are being discussed the most are Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan - Jawan), Best Director (Sudipto Sen - The Kerala Story), and Best Cinematography (Prasantanu Mohapatra - The Kerala Story). A few days ago, in an interview, South actress Urvashi had questioned the criteria on which SRK was given the Best Actor award, and now, Malayalam film director Jeo Baby has slammed the National Awards for giving awards to The Kerala Story.
Jeo's film Kaathal - The Core was also eligible for National Awards this year. But, the film didn't get any awards.
During an interview with Hindustan Times, when the filmmaker was asked if he is disappointed that his movie didn't win an award, he said, "Personally, I’ve no such disappointment. But the awards given to The Kerala Story, a movie that misrepresented facts, is hugely disappointing. Not only was the movie full of lies, it was also shoddily made. The script, direction and acting were below par. Such misrepresentation of facts is quite scary."
Jeo Baby Says Movies That Back Agenda Of Ruling Party Win National Awards
While talking about the National Awards, the filmmaker said, "For the past 10 years or so we have seen this pattern. Movies that seem to back the agenda of the ruling parties have won awards at the national level."
He added, "These awards seem to have no significance now, as they are encouraging plots and scripts that only the people in power believe in. Why have these awards when the movies cannot be treated on merit? What’s the value of these awards?"
Well, till now, the makers of The Kerala Story have not given any statement about controversy revolving around their film receiving the National Awards.
