India’s National Film Awards Are at a Crossroads: Stop Rewarding Hype, Start Valuing Storytelling Craft
- Sajeev Varghese
- Oct 4
- 11 min read
Every award ceremony is more than a red carpet—it’s a mirror. It tells us what an industry values, who it celebrates, and what kind of cinema it wants the world to remember. And in India, that mirror is cracked.
The 71st National Film Awards should have been a showcase of India’s finest—our talent, craft, and stories standing tall on the global stage. Instead, it once again reignited a familiar debate: Are these awards honoring true cinematic excellence, or simply reinforcing Bollywood’s echo chamber of manufactured stardom and political optics?
Consider this year’s headlines. Shah Rukh Khan, for Jawan (a film with a shaky 6.9/10 IMDb score and glaring narrative flaws), was elevated to Best Actor in a Leading Role, sharing the honor with Vikrant Massey, whose 12th Fail (8.1/10) embodied authentic storytelling and character-driven nuance. Karan Johar was awarded Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment for Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani (6.5/10), despite the film being widely criticized for hollow melodrama.
And then there’s the case of Gangubai Kathiawadi. Alia Bhatt campaigned hard on global circuits; the film was touted for Oscar consideration and pushed into BAFTA conversations. All cringe moments for the Indian diaspora everywhere, who know better. Yet, it was awkwardly snubbed internationally—a telling signal from juries abroad who didn’t see the film measuring up to world-class standards. Back home, though, she walked away with the National Award for Best Actress. How does one reconcile that contradiction? Globally dismissed, locally crowned—it raises questions about credibility, consistency, and what kind of performances India truly wants to reward.
The most glaring oversight, however, isn’t just in acting or popularity categories. It’s in writing. Screenplay awards in India are still relegated to the Silver Lotus tier, signaling they are somehow secondary. Globally, screenwriting is a Golden Lotus equivalent—it sits beside Best Picture and Best Director because everyone knows: no great film exists without a great script. By failing to elevate screenplay awards, India sends an implicit message to its creators: spectacle matters more than story. This is the opposite of what the Oscars, BAFTAs, or Golden Globes reward.
All of this erodes morale. For writers, actors, and filmmakers outside Bollywood’s inner circle, the message is devastating: excellence may not matter. Connections, star power, and lobbying might matter more. The result? A creative culture that rewards mediocrity, stifles innovation, and weakens India’s global credibility.
But here’s the opportunity: if the National Film Development Corporation of India recalibrates its criteria—anchoring awards in Story-First principles aligned with global standards—then Indian cinema can finally reclaim its rightful place as a global powerhouse. Imagine awards that value transformation over vanity, substance over spectacle, storytelling over stardom. Imagine the ripple effect: stronger scripts, disciplined performances, producers who prioritize craft, and audiences who feel respected, not manipulated.
This analysis makes the case for that shift. Because until India learns to celebrate authentic storytelling as its highest currency, the National Film Awards will remain not a mirror—but a mask.
🎬 The Awards That Asked More Questions than Answers
When the 71st National Film Awards (honoring 2023 cinema) were announced on 1 August 2025, the same old criticisms echoed yet again. The biggest flashpoints:
Shah Rukh Khan was awarded Best Actor in a Leading Role for Jawan, sharing the honor with Vikrant Massey for 12th Fail. The contrast in real acting skills between them is palpable. Critics argued the decision undermines nuance, skill, and transformative performance.
Karan Johar’s Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani took Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment, drawing ire given its middling IMDB rating (~6.5/10) and accusations of inflated metrics and spectacle.
The optics are troubling. When awards are meant to celebrate exceptional craft instead of reward star power and box-office spectacle, they erode trust. Good actors go unrewarded, regional films remain sidelined, and the meritocracy crumbles.
More than just individual snubs, this sends a chilling message: the system values visibility over veracity, marketing over mastery, and brand over bravery.
❌ Gangubai Kathiawadi: Snubbed Abroad, Crowned at Home — A Contradiction Exposed
The case of Gangubai Kathiawadi is perhaps one of the starkest examples yet of how Bollywood’s award systems often bend to optics rather than global merit. The film, directed by Sanjay Leela Bhansali and starring Alia Bhatt, campaigned earnestly for recognition on international stages. It was submitted for Oscar consideration and pushed heavily in the BAFTA longlists. Yet, when the BAFTA longlist came out, Gangubai Kathiawadi was conspicuously absent. Globally, many critics and audiences felt Alia Bhatt’s performance merited at least a nomination — monologues, nuance, emotional depth — but the international institutions remained silent.
Then at home, she was awarded the National Film Award for Best Actress (Leading Role) for Gangubai Kathiawadi. That domestic vindication rings hollow against the overseas snub — revealing a dissonance in how “excellence” is judged in India versus how it’s valued on global platforms.
The contradiction is glaring. How does a performance pass the bar for national honors but fail to break through the barrier of global acclaim? The likely answer lies in systems built for different incentives. National awards sometimes reward star pull, cultural proximity, lobbying, internal networks, and domestic optics — factors that have less import in the international awards ecosystem, where peer review, technical standards, jury transparency, and cross-cultural resonance heavily influence outcomes.
What this does to morale is severe. Talented actors and filmmakers in India begin to feel that excellence must conform to local politics, not universal benchmarks. That no matter how deeply they inhabit a role, their work will only be validated if it fits the machinery’s interests. And when public awards frequently reward spectacle over substance, it conditions future creators to play to hype—not to push the boundaries of craft.
Through the Gangubai example, we see how India’s awards system sometimes shields itself from the accountability of global standards. The lesson is clear: unless Indian awards (especially in acting and popular film categories) adopt rigorous, transparent, story-first aligned criteria, the gap between what’s rewarded at home and what’s respected in the world will only widen.
🔍 How Global Awards Do It (and What India Must Learn)
To understand where the NFDC system went off track, let’s contrast it with processes in the Oscars, BAFTA, and Golden Globes:
🏆 Oscars / Academy Awards
Peer voting bodies: technicians vote for technical categories, actors vote for acting categories — aligning domain expertise.
Strict screening criteria, minimum run times, release windows, and jury vetting ensure only eligible films compete.
Transparent shortlists and nomination stages; the process is public, documented, audited across branches.
🎞️ BAFTA & Golden Globes
Balanced panels: critics, industry professionals, international representatives.
Emphasis on originality, emotional resonance, innovation, not just commercial success.
Award categories that distinguish “Popular” vs “Artistic” films, but with clear rubrics.
When these awards select winners, the industry and public accept them as more credible — because the process is built on craft, accountability, and defined criteria.
✅ Story-First Criteria for India’s National Film Awards
To restore legitimacy and inspire higher standards, here's a proposal for revised criteria for Best Actor Leading Role and Best “Popular” Film — grounded in the Story-First ethos:
Category | Story-First Criteria | Rationale / Checks & Balances |
Best Actor (Leading Role) | • Character Transformation: performance must show a clear arc, conflict, and change • Believability: viewer must suspend disbelief consistently • Emotional Depth: subtlety, internal conflict, restraint must be rewarded • Dialogue Economy: not how many lines, but how well lines are delivered in context • Integration with Story: performance must serve narrative themes, not ego | • Panels composed of senior actors, directors, acting coaches • Comparative review of performance clips in isolation • Anonymous scoring before name reveal |
Best Popular / Wholesome Film | • Thematic Coherence: mass accessibility + deeper emotional or social theme • Character Stakes over Spectacle: plot escalations must emerge from character decisions • Craft in Execution: direction, editing, sound, production design must support story, not overshadow it • Audience & Critical Balance: must show resonance with both critics and genuine audiences • Sustainability: films that stay with viewers beyond box office spike | • Dual voting: industry jury + selected public jurors (rotating) • Post-screening Q&A or review audits to check narrative integrity • Transparent scoring breakdown published (craft vs popularity) |
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These criteria would anchor awards in narrative integrity and craft — not in hype, star wattage, or box-office numbers.
🌱 How It Affects Morale & the Industry
When the National Awards affirm spectacle over substance, several things happen:
Disheartening for real talent — actors, screenwriters, and regional cinema feel the system no longer values depth.
Normalization of mediocrity — when middling films win, future creators aim low.
Regional invisibility — Bollywood continues to dominate in awards, funding, and visibility.
Global credibility lost — Indian films aren’t taken seriously on world stages if their own national awards lack rigor.
On the flip side, reforming the awards system would send a message: craft matters. Performance matters. Story matters. And Indian cinema can reclaim respect — at home and abroad.
🎯 Story-First Intelligence Must Govern Awards Too
Awards are not just trophies. They are cultural signals — they tell filmmakers where to aim, viewers what to value, and the industry what to invest in.
If the National Film Awards embraced Story-First Intelligence, their prestige would be restored. They could become beacons, not punchlines, in global filmmaking discourse.
Until that shift happens, no amount of publicity, political backing, or star clout can buy the respect that only authentic narrative craft commands.
It’s time to rewrite not just films — but the very systems that claim to honor them.
🌍 Why Global Alignment Matters
Bollywood’s current award culture thrives inside a closed loop. Stars are manufactured, popularity is inflated, and mediocrity is rewarded so long as it sells opening-weekend tickets. Within that echo chamber, applause may sound deafening — but outside, on the global stage, it rings hollow. When Shah Rukh Khan wins alongside Vikrant Massey, or Karan Johar’s glossy melodrama is crowned “wholesome entertainment,” the industry may congratulate itself. But the world sees through the illusion. And worse — it laughs.
Contrast that with how alignment to global standards transforms an industry. When the Oscars, Golden Globes, or BAFTAs celebrate performances like Daniel Day-Lewis in Lincoln or Cate Blanchett in Blue Jasmine, they aren’t just rewarding star power. They’re recognizing artistry that can travel — films and performances that speak across borders, languages, and cultures. That credibility attracts financing, distribution deals, festival slots, and a global audience hungry for authentic stories.
For India, this alignment isn’t just prestige. It’s survival. By moving away from hollow PR spectacles and toward story-first evaluation, the National Film Awards could signal to the world that Indian cinema is more than its caricature of song-and-dance blockbusters. It could show that we value craft over clout, that our actors are capable of transformation, and our stories can carry both local soul and universal weight.
Imagine the effect: actors trained to become their characters rather than parade their personalities; directors greenlighting films that balance cultural specificity with global resonance; producers held accountable for story integrity, not just ticket sales. That is how Malayalam cinema earns respect abroad. That is why Korean cinema exploded worldwide. And that is exactly the path Indian cinema must take.
Until then, Bollywood may dominate headlines in Mumbai, but globally it will remain a punchline. Alignment with global standards is not about chasing validation — it’s about ensuring that Indian talent, when it steps onto the world stage, is met not with skepticism, but with standing ovations.
✍️ Elevating Screenwriting: From Silver Lotus to Golden Lotus
If cinema is the marriage of art and commerce, then the screenplay is its DNA. It is the single blueprint from which every department—directing, acting, cinematography, sound, editing—draws its life force. And yet, in India’s National Film Awards, the screenplay remains relegated to the Silver Lotus (Rajat Kamal) category, as though it were an accessory rather than the foundation. Compare this with the Oscars, BAFTA, and Golden Globes: screenwriting sits alongside Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor categories at the very top. The reason is simple—no great film is possible without a great script.
Elevating Best Original Screenplay and Best Adapted Screenplay to the Golden Lotus (Swarna Kamal) tier would send a powerful signal: that India values the craft of writing not as a supporting act, but as the central driver of cinematic excellence. It would force producers and directors to stop treating the script as an afterthought, and instead see it as the non-negotiable foundation for awards and legacy.
Global Standards to Adopt
The Academy, BAFTA, and other global institutions set clear benchmarks. They classify and evaluate screenplays based on:
Classification
Original Screenplay: Entirely new narratives conceived by the writer(s).
Adapted Screenplay: Based on existing material such as novels, plays, or even earlier films.
Evaluation Criteria
Theme & Meaning: What larger ideas does the story explore?
Structure: Does the story have a coherent and satisfying arc (beginning, middle, end)?
Plot: Are conflicts, stakes, and turning points authentic and engaging?
Character: Are characters multidimensional, with growth, contradictions, and inner life?
Dialogue: Is the dialogue natural, revealing, and essential to story progression?
Premise/Concept: Is the core idea bold, fresh, and meaningful?
Scene Execution: Does each scene have purpose and propulsion?
Presentation: Is the script professionally formatted, serving as a viable production blueprint?
Why This Matters for India
By raising screenwriting to Golden Lotus status, the NFDC would not only incentivize better writing but also elevate the Story-First mindset across the filmmaking ecosystem. Writers would get recognition commensurate with their contribution. Producers would compete for high-quality scripts, not just high-profile stars. Directors would have the discipline of a crafted blueprint to guide their vision. And most importantly, audiences would finally receive stories that are believable, emotionally engaging, intellectually compelling, relevant, and meaningful—the very pillars of Story-First Certification.
This is not a cosmetic change—it’s a structural shift that aligns Indian awards with global best practices. And it’s a signal to the world that Indian cinema is serious about reclaiming its place as a storytelling powerhouse, not just a numbers game.
🌍 CONCLUSION: From Echo Chambers to Global Relevance
The 71st National Film Awards revealed more than winners; they exposed the fault lines in how India measures cinematic excellence. When Jawan and Rocky Aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani are honored alongside 12th Fail, the signals sent to young filmmakers and actors are confusing at best, corrosive at worst. When Gangubai Kathiawadi is snubbed abroad but rewarded at home, it exposes a gap between domestic validation and international credibility. And when screenwriting—the very foundation of filmmaking—remains relegated to Silver Lotus status, it tells writers they are still second-class citizens in an industry that cannot survive without them.
This dissonance is not harmless. It shapes the choices of producers, the ambitions of actors, and the imagination of writers. Awards that privilege spectacle over story reinforce a culture where marketing matters more than meaning, where connections outweigh craft, and where the echo chamber drowns out the global conversation.
But it doesn’t have to be this way. If the NFDC retools its criteria—elevating Best Screenplay to the Golden Lotus tier, aligning evaluations with global standards, and adopting a Story-First framework—it can reset the bar for the entire industry. It can show that India is not content with feeding its lowest common denominator but is determined to inspire, challenge, and move audiences everywhere.
The global stage is waiting. South Korea proved it with Parasite. Christopher Nolan proved it with Oppenheimer. Even regional Indian cinema—Malayalam, Tamil, Telugu—has shown it with films that marry local soul to universal craft. If India’s National Awards evolve, they can nurture the talent that creates the next wave of stories to stand beside those benchmarks.
The opportunity is enormous: a Story-First India can not only reclaim pride at home but also command respect abroad. By rewarding stories that are believable, emotionally engaging, intellectually compelling, relevant, and meaningful, India can rebuild its soft power, its cultural capital, and its cinematic legacy.
The message to filmmakers is clear: stop chasing trophies in echo chambers. Start creating films that deserve them everywhere. And the message to NFDC is urgent: build awards that don’t just celebrate cinema, but elevate it.
Ask yourselves these two simple questions: 1. Why is that the largest and the oldest film industry has barely anything to show for it on the world stage? 2. Why do our actors and actresses rarely get selected to play Indian character roles, let alone any character roles in global film productions? These productions would rather have an outsider take on these Indian character roles.
Because until we do, the world will continue to laugh at our illusions, instead of applauding our stories.
Indian cinema can either remain trapped in its own echo chamber — or rise as a global storytelling powerhouse.
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