I was thrilled when the State film awards were announced and my film (Mungaaru Male) bagged six awards. I mean that’s a natural reaction right? It is a recognition bestowed by the State government. Our team is happy that a committee instituted by the government to select the best in the business, chose our film for the honour.

Normally, I don’t have any expectations regarding awards and honours. I do not wait for them to motivate me. I was happy probably for 10 minutes. After that nothing bothers me as I am not emotional at all. However, I feel that people should not be affected by the omission or inclusion of certain films. It is the jury’s choice. Our film won the people’s hearts, that is what matters. It is usually the people and the jury who have the capacity to embrace or reject a film. But I welcome the decision of the Nagatihalli Chandrashekhar-led committee which selected a popular film for the first time. It is a drastic change and a very heartening one too.

Many people make films solely to get awards. I remember watching several award-winning films when I was probably doing my PUC. Some of them had frames where there would be some sounds like a vessel being thumped down, to be followed a little later by an old man or a woman with little or no movement, with lot of gaps between the sound and the visual.

During those days, we thought all award-winning films were to be made this way. Maybe the filmmakers had tried to bring in their own aesthetics into the process. There is a category of filmmakers who love to experiment in this field. They are serious about what they do. But I do not belong to that category. Neither do I have the intelligence nor the patience to make such films.

My main aim is to make films that make people laugh or cry, something they can relate to — with my limited abilities. I do not have the drive to go behind an award or make a film only for the purpose of winning one. I am content to receive both bouquets and brickbats.

At the same time, it is expected of a jury, as also with people, to be impartial. I know it is difficult as there’s bound to be differences of opinion. You may like to give the award to one film or all the films entered. The moment’s decision is the ultimate truth here, which cannot be reached by judgment alone.

There’s bound to be some controversy as you cannot please everyone. Lot of what is right and what is wrong is involved here. Ultimately, I can say I am not bothered by these things.

As it is, the awards lost their value a long time back. It is difficult to have any sort of expectation in such a cultural set up in this country. There is a lobby in the industry just as in other fields too.

Take cricket for example. Look at what happened to Hansie Cronje. It is the same problem in all the fields. With organisations mushrooming daily and announcing awards by the dozen, the word itself has lost some of its meaning and prestige.

As for accepting or rejecting an award, who are we to discuss whether Aamir Khan attends the awards function or not? If he feels right about what he is doing, let him be. Remember, the late Poornachandra Tejaswi did not attend nor accept the award for which he was selected. It all comes down to the individual’s mindset and personality. Awards motivating a filmmaker to deliver his best becomes secondary.