Meera Chopra: Choosing winners at 72nd National Film Awards was tough

Jury member Meera Chopra called choosing winners for the 72nd National Film Awards an 'impossible task'. She said the jury tried to reward unique performances and ensure fair representation, discussing the joint Best Actor award and Yami Gautam's win.

The 72nd National Film Awards celebrated some of the finest performances and films from across the country. Actress Meera Chopra, who was part of the feature film jury, said choosing the winners was one of the toughest tasks as every shortlisted film deserved recognition. Speaking to ANI, Meera said the jury had shortlisted 50 films out of nearly 400 entries. She shared that selecting the winners from those film was "almost an impossible task" because every film was exceptional. She also said the jury tried to recognise those who had done something different while making sure that all film industries across the country were fairly represented.

"50 of 400 were shortlisted - 50 best films from all across India. We had to give awards from those 50 films. It was almost an impossible task to do because those 50 films were fantastic. They were all brilliant films. Our genuine effort was to ensure that the awards go to those who have done something different and that all industries get represented. We did a balancing act so that nobody feels that one industry got more than the others. It's very difficult to select from 50 best films. Everything was brilliant."

Best Actor award a 'very interesting combination'

Meera also spoke about the Best Actor award, which was jointly given to Mammootty for Bramayugam and Kartik Aaryan for 'Chandu Champion.' Calling it a "very interesting combination," she said Mammootty's performance made him a clear choice for the jury, while Kartik was recognised for stepping out of his comfort zone with a different kind of role. She added that this was one of the most difficult decisions the jury continued discussing till the very last day.

"I think it's a very interesting combination. Mammootty Sir is a legend. He was bound to be awarded because I think I have not seen a movie in India like his movie 'Bramayugam'. When we watched it, the jury knew that we have to award him. Kartik Aaryan tried to do something very different than what he usually does. So, we awarded him. I hope people like this combination because this was the most difficult combination which we were discussing until today morning..."

Best Actress win an 'easy decision'

On Yami Gautam winning the Best Actress award for Article 370, Meera said there were only a few women-led films among the shortlisted entries. She said the jury picked the best film from that category and called it a "very easy decision."

"This year, the representation of women-centric films were very few. So, we had only a few short-listed selected films. We chose the best. This was a very easy decision."

'Article 370' biggest winner

Article 370, starring Yami Gautam, turned out to be the biggest winner at the 72nd National Film Awards by winning the Best Feature Film award.

The winners were announced by Feature Film Jury Chairperson Jayaraj, Non-Feature Film Jury Chairperson Aseem Sinha and Best Writing on Cinema Jury Chairperson A. Chandrasekhar. They were joined by Dr. Ajay Nagabhushan M.N., Joint Secretary (Films), and Dhirendra Ojha, Principal Director General of the Press Information Bureau (PIB).

The National Film Awards are among India's highest honours in cinema. They recognise excellence in feature films, non-feature films and writing on cinema across different Indian languages and genres. (ANI)

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