Thiruvananthapuram, Nov. 30 -- Veteran actor-director Balachandra Menon, marking 50 years in cinema, has alleged that the 1997 National Film Awards were manipulated at the last minute, costing his film Samantharangal several top honours.
Menon claimed he was initially set to win Best Actor, Best Director, and Best Feature Film for Samantharangal.
According to him, the decisions had already been finalised when a "last-minute intervention" by certain jury members, including some from Kerala, altered the outcome.
To support his claims, Menon released a video reportedly featuring Devender Khandelwal, the jury chair in 1997, confirming that the original decision had been changed.
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