Urvashi hits back at critics after winning Best Supporting Actress in 71st National Awards:  This is not pension money...

Urvashi on getting Supporting Actress awards

Actor Urvashi, who plays Leelamma in Christo Tomy's 2024 film Ullozhukku, also starring Parvathy Thiruvothu, recently took home the Best Supporting Actress prize at the 71st National Film Awards.

During an interview with Manorama News, the 56-year-old veteran actress expressed both gratitude and frustration, asking whether age had an impact on how her role was classified and how much recognition she received.

Urvashi challenged the rationale behind labelling her performance as ‘supporting’ when both she and Parvathy were in contention for the Best Actress category.

“Is there any standard scale for acting? Or is it that after a certain age, this is all you’ll get?” she asked pointedly. Urvashi further remarked that awards should be a source of pride and come with clear explanations. “This is not pension money to be silently accepted. How are these decisions made? What criteria is followed?” she questioned.

Urvashi has previously run into this kind of controversy. Despite playing the lead in the 2006 movie Achuvinte Amma, she won Best Supporting Actress, recalling a similar experience.

She claimed at the time that "politics" had an impact on the awards procedure. Urvashi emphasised that she has never engaged in lobbying and has always concentrated on making meaningful films. Additionally, she urged Union Minister Suresh Gopi to investigate the awards system and support the worthy recognition of Malayalam cinema.

The 71st National Film Awards, announced recently, saw Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey sharing the Best Actor Award, with Rani Mukerji winning Best Actress. The film 12th Fail was honoured with Best Film. The Malayalam film industry has voiced dissatisfaction over some notable snubs, including Prithviraj Sukumaran’s performance in Aadujeevitham—The Goat Life.

Also Read: Dhanush condemns the AI-altered ending of Raanjhanaa: This is not the film I committed to 12 years ago...

In Mollywood, Pookkaalam won Best Editing, Ullozhukku won Best Malayalam Film, and 2018 received Best Production Design. For his performance in the movie, actor Vijayaraghavan was awarded Best Supporting Actor. In the meantime, Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan added to the ongoing discussions surrounding the ceremony by criticising The Kerala Story's receipt of a National Award.

Urvashi's open comments bring to light persistent worries about the equity and openness of award recognitions, particularly for established Indian film artists.