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Kerala State Film Awards
Movies in India have a special place among the heart of the citizens. Not only do they regularly visit the theatres for their dose of emotions, reality, imagination and transformations, the movies in turn provide a wide range of depictions of various social issues. Almost no state in India is free from the frenzy of movies, although it varies from one state to another with the differences in the culture and the respective industry. Movie making has turned into a strong and successful industry in many states, so much so that they have been recognised by the governments. A form of such recognition is the institution of awards for the movies produced in that state. Even, these states have a name for the movie industry, the most popular in India being the Bollywood or the movie industry in Mumbai. Since Bollywood releases movies in the Hindi language, it has a pan-India as well as worldwide appeal. But, other regional language movies are much revered in the local state or in a few of the neighbouring states. Besides Bollywood, the South Indian film industry is the biggest in terms of number of movies made as well as in the expenditure on making the movies.
Kerala or Malayalam movie Industry
Malayalam Cinema is the movie industry, which is based out of Kerala with motion pictures being produced in the Malayalam language. In the initial days in 1920s, the Malayalam cinema was started in Trivandrum. During 1940s, when Mollywood as is the favourite name for Malayalam film industry, started flourishing, it shifted its base to Chennai. For a number of decades, Malayalam movies or the Kerala state movies were produced from Chennai, which was also the centre for the entire South Indian Cinema. By 1980s, much had developed in the Kerala Film industry status and Kochi was described as the hub in Kerala. The city of Thiruvananthapuram also became well known for the Malayalam movie industry.
Role of Kerala State Chitralaya Academy
Since the early part of 20th century, the Kerala movie industry has grown into one of the prominent establishments of movie making in the country. The initiation of International Film Festival of Kerala in 1996, gave further credence to the art form in Kerala. Held in the city of Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala, the IFFK has been managed by Kerala State Chitralaya Academy on behalf of the state’s Ministry of Cultural Affairs. This festival is held every year in the month of November/December and is considered to be one of the leading festivals of films in the country. A lot of credits of being the first in movie scenario in the country can be attributed to the Malayalam film industry. Some of these have become major hits across the country and few have established their role in the development of the Kerala movie industry. After the Kerala State Chitralaya Academy was set up in 1997, by the government, as a charitable organisation, the Malayalam movie industry surely got a facelift. It aims at providing a rejuvenating force to the Kerala film industry at national level, through Kerala State Film Awards and other film festivals, one of which is the IFFK. The general council body of this academy comprises of leading figures from the state’s movie fraternity.
Kerala State Film Awards
Kerala State Film Awards have been instituted for various movies made in Kerala and are managed under the Kerala State Chitralaya Academy since the year 1998. These awards are conferred on behalf of Department of Cultural Affairs of Kerala Government. But, the first of these awards were started in the year 1969 directly under the Department of Cultural Affairs of Government of Kerala. This was done till the year 1997. Manner of deciding the winners is through the formation of an independent jury, constituted by the cultural affairs department. This jury comprises of many eminent personalities from the field of movies while the awards for literature are decided by another jury. From the movies released in a particular year, the films are invited to be considered for the awards and the analysis is done by the jury. These awards aim to encourage and promote values of movie making and skills of artists, various technicians associated with movies and the producers. Final declaration of the Kerala State Film Awards is done by Minister of Cultural Affairs of the state and the distribution is done by the Chief Minister of Kerala.
List of Kerala State Film Awards
When the Kerala State Film Awards were first distributed in 1969, there were only 15 categories of awards. With cinematic improvement and excellence and recognition of more number of fields, the number of awards has grown to over 30. Lifetime Achievement Award, also known as the J.C. Daniel Award for Outstanding Contribution to Malayalam Cinema is the most prestigious award among these. Besides, a number of awards are provided to the Best Film, Second Best Film, Best Director, Best Actor, Actress, Child Artist, Screenplay, singers and other categories in acting. Many of the Kerala State Film Awards also commemorate the contributions of technicians like Art Director, Cinematography, Music Director, sound Recordist, Processing Lab, Dubbing Artist, and some others, who are responsible for giving a lively picture to the movies. Some special awards are also provided, such as the Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value, Best Debut Director, Best Documentary, Best Book on Cinema and Best Article on Cinema. Each of these awards has a cash prize of certain amount and a replica of the award and a certificate.
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