THIRUVANANNTHAPURAM: "Prithviraj dedicated his body and soul to become Najeeb in 'Aadujeevitham'. It will be an unforgivable mistake committed towards cinema if we ignore it..
." this was the opinion of a jury member in the final moments of the state film award selection. Until then, Mammootty gave tough competition to Prithviraj with his remarkable performance as 'Mathew Devassy' in the film 'Kaathal: The Core'.
Some jury members opined that Prithviraj's performance in 'Aadujeevitham' should be rated as high as the performance of Hollywood actor Tom Hanks in the movie 'Cast Away'. While some members felt that Mammootty had given 100% justice to his character, Jury Chairman Sudheer Mishra collected written evaluations from each member. In the subsequent discussion, Prithviraj was selected as the best actor.
Until the final round, Joju George (for the movie 'Iratta') and Dileesh Pothan (for the movie 'O. Baby') were also considered for the award. After considerable discussion and deliberation, Urvashi and Beena R Chandran were chosen to share the Best Actress prize.
Parvathy Thiruvothu was also in the first two rounds for her performance in 'Ullozhukku'. In the selection process for the Best Character Actor award, KR Gokul's portrayal of the character Hakkeem in 'Aadujeevitham' was a strong contender until the very end, challenging veteran actor Vijayaraghavan. Gokul, who used his body to depict a life of misery, was ultimately surpassed by Vijayaraghavan in a photo finish.
The jury appreciated that Vijayaraghavan was able to maintain the subtle emotions of an elderly character throughout the film. The jury also gave a special mention to Gokul. The movie 'O Baby' directed by Ranjan Pramod was a top contender for the Best Film and Best Director awards until the final round.
AR Rahman was in the final round for the Best Music Director award for the song 'Periyone Rahumane" from the movie 'Aadujeevitham'. However, the majority opinion was in favour of Justin Varghese's song 'Chenthamarapoovin..
.' from the movie 'Chaaver'..
