The 71st National Film Awards of 2023 have been announced, and Bollywood superstar Shah Rukh Khan has finally achieved a milestone his first National Award after over thirty years in the industry. Known as the king of Bollywood romance, SRK’s win marks a historic moment, celebrating his enduring popularity and impact.
As a devoted SRK fan, I couldn’t help but cheer when I heard the news. Yet, amidst the excitement, a slight eye-roll crept in. After all these years, after acclaimed performances in films like Swades and Chak De! India, it’s a blockbuster masala film like Jawan that finally earned him this honor?
Don’t get me wrong Jawan was undeniably a cinematic thrill. Three hours of high-octane action with metro hijacks, dapper prison uniforms, a cigar-chomping Shah Rukh channeling George Clooney, and a father-son duo cleaning up corruption in India. The film was stylish, slick, and carried entirely on SRK’s charismatic shoulders. But a National Award for it? That’s a twist I hadn’t seen coming.
Perhaps it’s poetic in its own way. The more serious, nuanced performances that could have challenged award juries to be bold were overlooked for years, and now, a high-octane action film takes the spotlight. It raises questions about the criteria and the evolving nature of recognition in Indian cinema.
Bollywood awards have long had a reputation show up at the party, dance on stage, and you often walk away with a trophy. Attendance and star power seem to be the currency of success in many private, commercial awards.
But the National Film Awards? They were once touted as the most credible and impartial, a space where artistic merit and cultural significance ruled supreme. For over a decade, they were considered the last bastion of true cinematic recognition, beyond the glitz and glamour of the industry’s commercial awards.
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