The recent Gaddar Awards are yet another example of how the Telugu film industry’s award system has become a carefully managed PR exercise.
Opinions are being shared on this topic, calling these awards a means to appease a few film families and close associates, rather than recognizing genuine talent.
"It's no longer about rewarding genuine talent or meaningful cinema; it’s about keeping the big players happy. Dil Raju, the merchant of movies, has turned the awards into a balancing act between film families, with Jayasudha playing along as a symbolic jury face. It's all Dil Raju's PR playbook", said a writer cum director.
The “best” films seem suspiciously curated to ensure that no major hero or camp is left out. This is not new, but looking back, from 2014 to 2023, the pattern is clear; one award for each hero, one for each family, carefully rotated and placed.
The real irony is that films with depth or artistic value are sidelined, while flashy commercial flicks walk away with trophies.
Allu Arjun winning Best Actor for Pushpa 2 feels less like a tribute to performance and more like a setup for future business. But the irony is that he is being honored with an award named after Gaddar, a singer who sang on the protection of forests, while Pushpa 2 features a protagonist who is a red sandalwood smuggler
And how are awards like the NTR, BN Reddy, or Raghupathi Venkaiah being decided? There's no transparency, no clear criteria — just familiar names getting recycled honors.
When mass entertainers starring insiders get awards year after year, it sends a clear message- popularity, sychophancy and connections matter more than merit.
If Dil Raju is setting the rules and everyone’s just following, let’s stop pretending this is about cinema. It’s a syndicate.
Hanu-Man is a film that shook the nation with its box office performance, competing with and even surpassing some Bollywood biggies. Yet, it wasn't honored with even a single award.
"NTR Award to Balakrishna, Paidi Jayaraj Award to Mani Ratnam, BN Reddy Award to Sukumar, Nagireddy Chakrapani Award to Atluri Poornachandra Rao, Kantarao Award to Vijay Deverakonda, and Raghupathi Venkaiah Award to Yandamuri Veerendranath… what is this? What exactly are the criteria for selecting these awards? It’s all about who gets chosen…" opined a journalist.
Certain films that won awards on the list are not truly deserving of a state award, as critics say. However, it is common to hear that government awards are distributed to favorites by influential people. This criticism also arose during the Nandi Awards event. So, the saga continues.
