Vinayakan lost the National Award by just two votes
The 64th National Film Awards were announced yesterday. Bollywood actor Akshay Kumar and Malayali actress Surabhi Lakshmi won the top honours in the acting category. Malayalam cinema won a total of seven awards this year. Veteran actor Mohanlal won the Special Jury award for his performance in Janatha Garage, Pulimurugan and Munthirivallikal Thalirkkumbol.
The jury headed by master filmmaker Priyadarshan shortlisted worthy movies form around 300 entries. Unlike last year, this time regional movies were more in numbers.
2016’s Kerala State best actor award winner Vinayakan was in serious contention for the second actor category in the National Awards. The jury had a tough time in selecting the winner between Vinayakan and Marathi actor Manoj Joshi.
After several rounds of discussions the jury opted for an voting and Vinayakan lost by just two votes. Manoj Joshi eventually won the National award for second best actor for his performance in Dakshriya.
Vinayakan’s performance in Rajeev Ravi’s Kammattipadam won him widespread acclaim from the audience and the critics. The actor won several accolades in the regional awards. He delivered an outstanding performance as Ganga in the movie. It was a complex character that had many shades and it demanded someone who could get into the skin of the character. Vinayakan fitted the bill perfectly appearing in three different looks in the movie.
The State Award jury’s decision to honour him with the best actor award was appreciated unanimously. It’s quite unfortunate that the actor missed the National award by a whisker but he should consider this as an achievement and continue to amaze us with more such performances.
