Renowned Malayalam film director Sibi Malayil recently unveiled a surprising revelation, disclosing that he was urged to choose Shah Rukh Khan over Mohanlal for the prestigious Best Actor Award at the 2009 National Film Awards. Malayil shared that Mohanlal’s impactful performance in the drama film “Paradesi” was seemingly omitted from the awards, despite his advocacy for multiple categories, including Best Actor, Best Director, Best Lyrics, and Best Singer. The jury ultimately recognized the film only in the makeup department.
Malayil recounted, “Cinematographer Sunny Joseph and I, as the Malayalees on the jury, wanted Paradesi to receive awards for director, costume, lyrics, and singer and strongly advocated for it.”
Adding another layer to the controversy, Malayil exposed the nomination of Sujatha for Best Singer, whose nomination was allegedly overlooked in favor of Shreya Ghoshal’s songs from “Jab We Met.” Malayil detailed how the director, being from North India, presented a video cassette to highlight Ghoshal’s work and subsequently altered the award.
“Paradesi,” directed by P.T. Kunju Muhammed, is a 2007 Malayalam drama that delves into the challenges faced by Indians who sought employment in Arabia post-partition.
On the professional front, Shah Rukh Khan is reveling in the success of his recent release, “Dunki,” a comedy-drama directed by Rajkumar Hirani. The film, exploring the concept of Donkey flight, garnered both critical acclaim and commercial success. Interestingly, this collaboration marks the first venture between SRK and Hirani, who had initially offered his debut film “Munna Bhai MBBS” to Shah Rukh Khan in the past.