Priyadarshan responds to allegations made by AR Murugadoss, other celebs about National Awards being biased

Filmmaker Priyadarshan has responded to the allegations made by AR Murugadoss and others that the National Awards 2017 were biased. He stressed that Akshay Kumar deserved the best actor award.

Priyadarshan, who was the chairperson of the jury for National Awards 2017, has been in the middle of a controversy ever since the winners were announced on Friday. People have been slamming the filmmaker on social media, saying the selection of winners was biased and that many talented people were ignored for the prestigious honour. 

Priyadarshan and Akshay Kumar have earlier worked together in Bollywood movies like Hera Pheri, Garam Masala, Bhagam Bhaag, Bhool Bhulaiya, De Dana Dan and Khatta Meetha. Their long-term ties gave enough fodder to critics to accuse the director of especially favouring the actor for the best actor award.

Even some celebrities, including AR Murugadoss‏, who has worked with Akshay Kumar in Holiday, were among those who expressed disappointment over the selection of the National Film Award winners. The Ghajini director tweeted: "#NationalAwards Can clearly witness the influence & partiality of people in jury, it's biased."

Priyadarshan had a different narrative to defend his act. "I have heard of all that and I will answer it in a simple way. When Ramesh Sippy was jury head Amitabh Bachchan won. When Prakash Jha was head of the jury, Ajay Devgn won. So none questioned at that time. So why all these questions are cropping up today," he told PTI.

"Akshay was given the best actor on the basis of his performance in two films — Airlift and Rustom. It was the jury's decision. One performance was dramatic and one was realistic. But according to the rule book, only one film can be mentioned and Rustom was mentioned in the list. But the award recognises his performance in both the movies," Priyadarshan added.