B-Town questions worth of popular film awards
Mumbai
24 Jan , 2017
After veteran Rishi Kapoor's revelation about 'buying' a Best Actor Award for
Rs 30,000 once upon a time, Bollywood celebrities like Raakhee, Subhash Ghai,
Taapsee Pannu and Prasoon Joshi have raised questions on the credibility of
popular film awards.Here's what they had to say:
Raakhee: When I was told I was getting the
award for Best Actress in an awful film called 'Be-Imaan', I said I wouldn't
accept it. Not when just a few years earlier they refused to give me the award
for what I thought was a commendable performance in 'Sharmeelee'.
'They chose to give Asha Parekh the Best Actress award that
year for 'Kati Patang'. Shockingly, they didn't even give Sachin Dev Burman
the Best Music award for his soulful music in 'Sharmeelee'. In fact, Sachin
and his son Rahul Dev Burman hardly ever got awards.
Tapsee Pannu: Awards, for me, are wonderful
television shows. Those trophies look good on your living room shelves. That's
about it.
Tillotama Shome: I wouldn't know about popular
awards because I've never been nominated for any, let alone won. If I did win
any, I'd feel accepted as part of this wonderful fraternity. Never mind. We
unsung artistes are like wild flowers. We will grow even through the cracks.
Paresh Rawal: The popular awards are worthless
and useless. They are big marketing events with no substance. A glaring omission
was my film 'OMG - Oh My God!' which didn't get any nominations in the popular
awards. And there are innumerable such sins of omission. Awards are as useless
as a tail on a teddy bear.
Subhash Ghai: Popular awards lost their credibility
long ago when they were turned into star-studded stage shows and commercial
events for television channels. Filmfare was the first awards function to turn
commercial when they tied up with a gutka brand. The rest followed. Earlier,
all the awards were for excellence and not for commercial branding. Unlike the
Oscars, which we still respect for maintaining authenticity, I attend our popular
awards in the spirit of a festive gathering. I only feel excited when I see
the awards for best debutants. That means we have new talent coming in.
Saurabh Shukla: There are too many awards.
And an excess of anything leads to boredom. If you eat too much chocolate, the
craving is replaced by nausea. You can't get excited about Holi if you had to
play it seven times a year. Awards are a celebration of talent. If you have
too many choices they are no longer exciting.
Satish Kaushik: Too many players spoil the
game. These are more like reality shows than awards functions. I miss the days
when there was one awards function, the Filmfare awards and the whole industry
used to wait for it.
Prasoon Joshi: They are a kind of reality
television. They are designed to entertain viewers. Award functions are like
consumer products. If we come to terms with this, it is easy to comprehend the
presence of so many brands functioning within the awards space. As long as we
recognize today's average awards function as a consumer item, we are fine. India
to that extent, is unique. However, I feel National awards are a little different
as they are not marketing tools.
Shailendra Singh (head honcho of Percept Ltd): It's a buffet
out there. You eat everything. But you don't respect or enjoy anything.
Mumbai
24 Jan , 2017
After veteran Rishi Kapoor's revelation about 'buying' a Best Actor Award for
Rs 30,000 once upon a time, Bollywood celebrities like Raakhee, Subhash Ghai,
Taapsee Pannu and Prasoon Joshi have raised questions on the credibility of
popular film awards.Here's what they had to say:
Raakhee: When I was told I was getting the
award for Best Actress in an awful film called 'Be-Imaan', I said I wouldn't
accept it. Not when just a few years earlier they refused to give me the award
for what I thought was a commendable performance in 'Sharmeelee'.
'They chose to give Asha Parekh the Best Actress award that
year for 'Kati Patang'. Shockingly, they didn't even give Sachin Dev Burman
the Best Music award for his soulful music in 'Sharmeelee'. In fact, Sachin
and his son Rahul Dev Burman hardly ever got awards.
Tapsee Pannu: Awards, for me, are wonderful
television shows. Those trophies look good on your living room shelves. That's
about it.
Tillotama Shome: I wouldn't know about popular
awards because I've never been nominated for any, let alone won. If I did win
any, I'd feel accepted as part of this wonderful fraternity. Never mind. We
unsung artistes are like wild flowers. We will grow even through the cracks.
Paresh Rawal: The popular awards are worthless
and useless. They are big marketing events with no substance. A glaring omission
was my film 'OMG - Oh My God!' which didn't get any nominations in the popular
awards. And there are innumerable such sins of omission. Awards are as useless
as a tail on a teddy bear.
Subhash Ghai: Popular awards lost their credibility
long ago when they were turned into star-studded stage shows and commercial
events for television channels. Filmfare was the first awards function to turn
commercial when they tied up with a gutka brand. The rest followed. Earlier,
all the awards were for excellence and not for commercial branding. Unlike the
Oscars, which we still respect for maintaining authenticity, I attend our popular
awards in the spirit of a festive gathering. I only feel excited when I see
the awards for best debutants. That means we have new talent coming in.
Saurabh Shukla: There are too many awards.
And an excess of anything leads to boredom. If you eat too much chocolate, the
craving is replaced by nausea. You can't get excited about Holi if you had to
play it seven times a year. Awards are a celebration of talent. If you have
too many choices they are no longer exciting.
Satish Kaushik: Too many players spoil the
game. These are more like reality shows than awards functions. I miss the days
when there was one awards function, the Filmfare awards and the whole industry
used to wait for it.
Prasoon Joshi: They are a kind of reality
television. They are designed to entertain viewers. Award functions are like
consumer products. If we come to terms with this, it is easy to comprehend the
presence of so many brands functioning within the awards space. As long as we
recognize today's average awards function as a consumer item, we are fine. India
to that extent, is unique. However, I feel National awards are a little different
as they are not marketing tools.
Shailendra Singh (head honcho of Percept Ltd): It's a buffet
out there. You eat everything. But you don't respect or enjoy anything.
Tags: Taapsee PannuParesh RawalSubhash GhaiSatish Kaushik