The nominees for the 2024 edition of the Filmfare Awards were announced yesterday. And since the announcement, myriad Indian movie buffs and cinema lovers have expressed their disappointment about a glaring omission in the ‘Best Actors’ category.
In the ‘Best Actor in a Leading Role (Male)’ category, the final nominees are Ranbir Kapoor (for Animal), Ranveer Singh (for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani), Shah Rukh Khan (for Dunki), Shah Rukh Khan (for Jawan), Sunny Deol (for Gadar 2), and Vicky Kaushal (for Sam Bahadur).
However, despite a terrific and arguably this year’s best performance in ‘12th Fail’, Vikrant Massey’s name is conspicuous by its absence in the above list. Although his name has been included in the ‘Best Actor Critics’ nominations category, several film enthusiasts have expressed their displeasure about why Vikrant Massey’s name is not there in the ‘Best Actors’ category.
Some of us might think that the exclusion might be because the ‘Best Actor’ Filmfare falls in the popular category and the ‘Best Actor Critics’ award is selected by a jury. But it’s not that ‘12th Fail’ is not a popular movie. In fact, it’s one of those rare films which gained a significant following and popularity just through good word-of-month, and that too without the presence of a big star, massive budget, and extravagant promotions. Still, the film has grossed around an impressive Rs.67 crores globally and is still running theatres.
Moreover, some of the film lovers also opined that if ‘12th Fail’ can compete in the ‘Best Film’ category, then why can’t Vikrant Massey’s name be included in the ‘Best Actor’ category. Why such a wonderful performance is not getting the credit it deserves is beyond the compression of many diehard cinephiles.
Besides, Vicky Kaushal’s name has been mentioned twice – one in the ‘Best Actors’ category and the second one in the ‘Best Actor Critics’ category. Similarly, Vikrant Massey’s name could have been included in both.
Another incident related to the movie ‘12th Fail’ happened yesterday. Bollywood heartthrob Hrithik Roshan took to his social media platform and said some good things about the movie, but apparently did not mention Vikrant Massey’s name at all directly. Later, he was criticized for doing that by several netizens.
We understand that picking out the best performances from a pool of actors is subjective. But, leaving out Vikrant Massey’s heartwarming performance from the ‘Best Actor’ Filmfare nominations category seems quite unfair to fans.
The nominations are ostensibly based on an audience voting system. But in order to maintain the quality and credibility of these awards, sometimes, some exceptions can be made – Vikrant Massey’s name in the ‘Best Actor’ category in this case.
In an ideal scenario, Filmfare should do away with the trend of including the names of blockbuster films and big stars in the ‘Best Film’ and ‘Best Actor’, etc. categories. In the shorter run, it might hamper the award night’s viewing figures, but in the longer run, the move should drastically improve the credibility of Filmfare Awards as perceived by fans.
And if Filmfare wants their awards to be perceived as a worthy Indian counterpart to the Oscars, they should perhaps rethink and brainstorm about the whole process and make their Awards a coveted and respected benchmark for filmmakers and actors. Vidhu Vinod Chopra’s ‘12th Fail’ starring Vikrant Massey is currently streaming on OTT on Disney+ Hotstar. We recommend you watch it in case you still haven’t.
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