After the acclaim, controversy.
National award-winning film Adaminte Makan Abu is threatening to divide the Malayalam film industry along regional lines.
After star Dileep thanked the absence of Malayalis in the jury for the recognition comedian Salim Kumar got as best actor, Pattanam Rasheed said on Saturday the very absence cost him the award for best make-up artist.
This is a second blow to the film after a magistrate in Kozhikode stayed its release and screening. “I would’ve got it if there was a Malayali. Jury members thought Salim was actually an old man. As such, they couldn’t appreciate my work,” Rasheed told Deccan Chronicle.
“Make-up plays an important role. An actor can lose an award if make-up doesn’t do justice to his/her character. That was one reason Jayaram lost the best actor award for his performance in Theerthadanam,” he said.
Rasheed was handpicked by Salim Kumar. “He [Salim] told director [Saleem Ahmed] that he would act only if I did the make-up. That shows his faith in me,” he said.
“The artificial beard we used initially didn’t match Salim’s skin tone. So, I asked a friend to bring an imported beard from Mumbai by spending money from my own pocket,” Rasheed said.
