No award for children’s cinema at Kerala State Film Awards, sparking controversy

The 55th Kerala State Film Awards jury’s decision not to give any award in the children’s film category created an uproar on Tuesday (November 4, 2025) with questions raised as to why the jury decided to ignore potentially worthy contenders. Transferee Srikuttan Directed by Vinesh Vishwanath.

Sharing a still image of the film’s child actors on his Facebook page, Mr Vishwanath wrote, “In a world of no-worth entries for Best Child Actor, they rank high”.

The film, which revolves around an upper primary school in Thiruvananthapuram, shows how a classroom eliminates the traditional row-based seating arrangement in favor of a semi-circle arrangement with the teacher at the centre. The popular climactic sequence led to many schools in Kerala adopting the seating arrangement in the film.

“I am sad not that my film was not selected, but that the jury decided not to give an award to any film in this category. We should be informed about the criteria under which the jury decided that no performance by child actors was worthy of an award in 2024. We have had memorable performances by child actors in films. Kishkindha incident And Hand Last year,” said Mr. Vishwanath The Hindu,

Child actor Devanand, in a Facebook post, accused the jury of turning a blind eye to the younger generation of actors.

The jury decided not to award any children’s film for the second consecutive year, although child actors had won awards last year. The jury, headed by actor-filmmaker Prakash Raj, found that although six children’s films were presented, “none of them were from a children’s point of view.”

“We request the film fraternity to please think about making children’s films. Children are a part of the society and we need to know what children think and understand. Just casting a few children is not enough to make it a children’s cinema. None of the films presented talked about children’s perceptions. Even in other films in which child actors were cast, they were not disclosing their ages,” Mr Prakash Raj said on Monday (November 3). Said at the press conference to announce the awards in Thrissur. 2025).

Minister’s stance

Meanwhile, Cultural Affairs Minister Saji Cherian said that the jury was of the opinion that no children’s film worthy of the award came before it. The government will intervene to ensure that more quality children’s films are made. A meeting will be organized with industry stakeholders to discuss the issue.