Siddique 'happy' and 'sad' with Kerala state awards

Malayalam film-maker Siddique Chennamangalloor, whose film 'Oomakkuyil padumbol' won two gongs in the Kerala State film awards for 2011, today expressed mixed emotions on receiving the honour.

Speaking to reporters here, Siddique, who produced and directed the film, said he was happy that it had won two awards -- second best female actress award for Nilambur Ayisha and best child actor award for Malavika Nair.

But the film, which was exclusively made for children and their parents, should have been included in the children's film category while choosing the awards, he said.

Malayalam film-maker Siddique Chennamangalloor today expressed mixed emotions on receiving the honour for his film.

Siddique said the film deals with subjects like the relationship between a school teacher and students, religious amity and lack of understanding among parents in bringing up their children, among others.

He said film directors and producers are reluctant to make children's films as they fear it will not fetch them even 25 per cent of the money spent.

Siddique claimed Censor Board members after watching the film had opined unanimously the film should be included in the children's film category. But due to pressure from "big cinema people" his film was not and instead it was included in the feature film category, he alleged.

"Though I am a bit sad that the film was not included in the children's film category, I am happy that people and children have accepted the film," he said.

The Kerala State Film Awards for 2011 was announced by the Kerala Forest and Film Minister, K B Ganeshkumar at Thiruvananthapuram, yesterday.

(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and Pinterest)