BANGALORE: Those who had opposed the selection of the Kannada films "Mona Lisa" and "Goudru" for the annual State film awards are all set to produce evidence in their favour that shows that the award selection committee has committed grave lapses.

Indrajit Lankesh's "Mona Lisa," which bagged the best film award, is said to be a thematic adaptation of the Tamil film "Parthiban Kanavu." Sandesh Nagaraj's "Goudru" is reportedly a direct remake of Bharathi Raja's Tamil hit "Kelakku Seemeyele." The production houses concerned will submit a certified original copy of "Kelakku Seemeyele" to the authorities on Friday. A fundamental policy issue will be raised with the Government with regard to "Mona Lisa." "The industry expects the Government to take corrective measures and ensure justice to deserving films. Legal action against the films concerned cannot be ruled out if the Government denies justice to deserving films," sources said.

The selection committee, headed by Kodalli Shivaram, who has produced the national award winning film "Grahana" and directed a documentary film, "Belli Chukki," on the cooperative dairy movement, did not have an easy time in selecting films for the awards. There were differences among the committee members over the selection of films.

In the light of these developments, the Government should clarify its policy on film awards, many producers, directors, artistes and technicians have said.

The committee was reportedly aware of the questionable aspects of both films, but it overlooked the objections raised by some of the members. In the case of "Mona Lisa," the committee admitted that it was technically difficult to establish that it was an adapted version of another film. But it differed on the merits the film.

Some members had pointed out that the copy of the film submitted to the award selection committee was a specially edited version, which amounted to fraud.

Questions

The issue is whether a suitably edited version of a film can be submitted for the consideration of the selection committee? Are such films eligible for the award? If not, how should such films be dealt with? These are questions that should be answered by the Government, the sources said.

In the case of "Goudru," adjudged the third best film, the committee violated the norm that remade films are not eligible for the State awards.

The Government has gone on record that it will reconsider the awards if it is provided with evidence showing that "Goudru" is a remake and that "Mona Lisa" does not deserve the award for whatever reason.

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