India, Aug. 2 -- The Kerala Story may have walked away with two major honours at the 71st National Film Awards, Best Director for Sudipto Sen and Best Cinematography for Prasantanu Mohapatra, but not everyone on the jury was in agreement. In an interview with Manorama, Jury member and filmmaker Pradeep Nair has now revealed that he strongly opposed the film's selection, calling it "propaganda" that defames the state of Kerala. However, his objections that were ultimately overruled by the rest of the panel.

Pradeep, who was part of the 11-member jury for the Feature Film category, disclosed that The Kerala Story was selected by a majority vote, despite his strong opposition. "As a Malayali on the panel, I raised serious objections. I ques...