Letters: Awards gone awry

This refers to the article "The Awards bazaar" (BS Weekend, March 22). It is inevitable that film awards are neither a barometer of merit nor a predictor of the award winner's future success. This is implicit in any system of deciding winners on the basis of opinions of viewers, with or without the aid of a jury. Box office success and the quality of movies have little correlation.

Historically, the trend of awarding the best in different departments of film-making was initiated by Filmfare, when it instituted the Clare Awards, in memory of film critic Clare Mendonca in 1954. Soon, "Clare" was replaced by "Filmfare" signifying the true commercial character. With time, TV channels, advertisers, sponsors and influential actors joined the bandwagon and the declaration of awards became subject to the perception of these pressure groups. Of the four-hour screening on TV, the actual awards presentation covers less than an hour. One is not sure whether the vast throng of audience in these shows are there to know the results or copy the outfits and jewellery of the VIPs.

There is now an increasing number of award-giving institutions, and venues have also moved from the serene Shanmukhananda Hall to esoteric locales abroad.

Y G Chouksey, Pune

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