Kochi, Kerala: Urvashi, a veteran actress, has sparked a big debate after winning the Best Supporting Actress prize at the 71st National Film Awards for her portrayal as Leelamma in the 2024 movie Ullozhukku. The 56-year-old actress thanked the committee but also openly attacked their judgment, criticizing the criteria used to put her in that category.
Urvashi told Manorama News that she was upset and asked, “Is there a standard scale for acting?” Or is this all you’ll get after a certain age? She pointed out that it was strange that she was called a “supporting” actress since she and her co-star Parvathy Thiruvothu were both competing for Best Actress.
Urvashi has been in a similar predicament before. She remembered earning the Best Supporting Actress award for the 2006 movie Achuvinte Amma, in which she played the main character. She said that even then, “politics” were involved, and she has always put making “meaningful cinema” ahead of trying to win accolades.
Urvashi’s comments are part of a larger discussion in the Malayalam cinema industry concerning this year’s National Awards. The famous actress has asked Union Minister Suresh Gopi to look into how the awards were chosen and make sure that Malayalam cinema gets its “rightful place.”
Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey won the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards, and Rani Mukerji won the Best Actress award. Ullozhukku won Best Malayalam Film and Vijayaraghavan got Best Supporting Actor for Pookkaalam. However, many people in the industry have said that other films and performances, such Prithviraj Sukumaran’s in Aadujeevitham, should have won.