Karnataka film awards: HC notice to govt

Kannada film producer N Narasimharaju has filed a writ petition questioning the announcement of Karnataka State Film Awards and subsidy for the films for 2017 and 2018 for violating the guidelines under the Kannada Film Policy 2011.

A single-judge bench of Justice K Nataraj, while hearing the petition on Thursday, issued a notice to the Kannada and Culture Department, Information and Public Relations Department and chairman and regional officer of the Central Board of Film Certification.

During the hearing, advocate for the petitioner G R Mohan submitted that the state government has violated the guidelines under the Kannada Film Policy while selecting films for the awards and subsidy.

The petitioner claimed that films, certified in a calendar year, should only be considered for the film awards and subsidy for that year only. But in some cases, the CBFC has issued certificates without mentioning the date of the verification. It indicates that the officials colluded with some producers while selecting the films for the award and subsidy, the petitioner contended.