Devanandha blasts Kerala State Awards for ignoring child actors
What's the story
Popular child actor Devanandha Jibin has slammed the jury of the Kerala State Film Awards 2025 for ignoring children's films and performances. The jury, headed by veteran actor Prakash Raj, decided not to award Best Children's Film and Best Child Artist this year as they felt the nominated films were below par. In a recent Instagram post, Jibin expressed her disappointment with this decision.
Post
'Don't say it's all dark here'
Jibin's Instagram account is run by her parents. The post read, "You can close your eyes to kids, but don't say it's all dark here." "It's not by denying awards to two children that one should try to say more children's films should be made. If you had given awards to two children, it would have become an inspiration for many others."
Criticism
Jibin named several films that had children in them
Jibin further stated, "I express my strong resentment toward the jury chairman, who said children should get more opportunities and that they are also part of society, but overlooked children's rights." "It's not by denying rights that reforms should be ushered in; rights should also be protected alongside reforms." She mentioned films like Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, Gu, Phoenix, and Ajayante Randam Moshanam (ARM) had many children in them.
Additional criticism
Director of 'Sthanarthi Sreekuttan' also criticized the jury
Vinesh Viswanath, director of Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, also criticized the jury for overlooking their film. He pointed out that despite not being children's films, movies like Manu Uncle (1988) and Kaaka Muttai (2014) had won National Film Awards for Best Children's Film in the past. Actor Anand Manmadhan, who starred in Sthanarthi Sreekuttan, also expressed his disappointment on social media.
Official response
Cultural minister defends jury's decision
Responding to the criticism, State Cultural Affairs and Cinema Minister Saji Cheriyan defended the jury's decision. He said the films submitted for 2024 were not creative enough. "Out of the total 137 films submitted this year, the jury found only about 10% to be quality films," he said. He assured that there would definitely be awards for children next year and promised a meeting with industry stakeholders soon to discuss issues related to children's films.