Urvashi Questions National Award Jury For Giving Her Award In Supporting Category: Jury Should Specify The Criteria

• Urvashi won the National Award for Best Supporting Actor (Female) in Ullozhukku, which also starred Parvathy Thiruvothu

• She slammed the jury for giving her award in supporting category

• The actress questioned alleged biases and snubs at National Film Awards

The 71st National Film Awards sparked controversy as Sudipto Sen's The Kerala Story won the Best Film and Best Cinematography. The government-backed decision to honour the film has been criticised by many, including the Chief Minister of Kerala, Pinarayi Vijayan, and the FTII students' body. Fans are also furious that Prithiviraj Sukumaran's Malayalam film Aadujeevitham: The Goat Life was snubbed at the 71st National Film Awards. The latest to share her opinion on the snubs and biases at National Film Awards is actor Urvashi, who clinched the Best Supporting Actor (Female) award for her performance in Christo Tomy’s Ullozhukku, which also starred Parvathy Thiruvothu.

Urvashi slams National Film Awards jury

In an interview with Asianet News, Urvashi, 56, expressed her gratitude for the award but questioned the jury on what basis or criteria Vijayaraghavan was given the Best Supporting Actor honour, and she was awarded the Best Supporting Actress. She further asked, "How did they evaluate the performances of Vijayaraghavan and Shah Rukh Khan? On what grounds were these performances compared and judged? What made Vijayaraghavan the Best Supporting Actor and Shah Rukh Khan the Best Actor?

This is not like pension money

"We also pay taxes and go about our jobs like everyone else," she said without mincing words.

Urvashi further criticised the jury for not even mentioning Aadujeevitham. She also claimed that her own Tamil film J Baby was snubbed. She wants Union Minister Suresh Gopi to step in and question.

The veteran actress wants clarification on the questions she has asked. "It's not like pension money to be silently accepted," she added.

For the unversed, Urvashi had earlier won the National Award for Best Supporting Actress for the 2006 film Achuvinte Amma, in which she played the lead. 

The 71st National Film Awards were announced on August 1, 2025. Shah Rukh Khan and Vikrant Massey shared the Best Actor Award, while Rani Mukerji bagged Best Actress. 12th Fail won Best Film, and Kathal won Best Hindi Film. Ullozhukku also won Best Malayalam Film.