HT Correspondent
GUWAHATI, Feb 27: The Assam State Film Awards 2020–21 have come under scrutiny following debates within the state’s film fraternity over questions of eligibility and certain jury decisions, triggering wider discussions on standards and transparency in the state’s top cinema honours.
The principal controversy centres on the Best Actor category.
Related Posts:
It has emerged that the award-winning performance featured dialogues dubbed by another artiste, raising questions over whether an acting honour should be conferred when a key component of performance — voice delivery — is not rendered by the actor.
Industry observers have drawn comparisons with a past debate at the National Film Awards, where actor Kirron Kher’s win for the Bengali film Bariwali had led to controversy because her voice was dubbed.
The episode subsequently prompted the framing of a clearer rule at the national level, rendering performances ineligible for acting awards if the actor’s voice is dubbed by another person.
While the Assam State Film Awards do not have a publicly codified rule explicitly addressing dubbing in acting categories, critics argue that state awards are generally expected to align with national standards.
They contend that voice modulation, dialogue delivery and tonal expression are intrinsic elements of acting and should be performed by the award recipient.
Another point of contention has arisen in the Best Film Critic (Articles) category. For 2020, the award was conferred on Aparijita Pujari.
However, she had also received the same honour for 2019, leading to criticism from sections of the film community.
Though not formally codified in many award guidelines, it has been a long-standing convention at both state and national levels that the Best Film Critic award is not typically presented to the same individual in consecutive years.
Critics of the decision describe it as a departure from established practice and have questioned whether the jury sufficiently considered the historical context of the awards.
Members of the film fraternity have expressed concern that such decisions may affect the credibility and perceived integrity of the Assam State Film Awards, which are regarded as the highest recognition for cinematic excellence in the state.
There has been no official response from the awards jury or the organising authority at the time of reporting.
