Our fascination with everything west brings home yet another inspired version of Hollywood, a straight lift from the concept of Razzies, (the Golden Raspberry Awards of Hollywood), the very Indian, the very original (we like to say inspired but the idea is purely ours), the Golden Kela Awards!
Honoring (read highlighting) the worst of Bollywood and justifying the torture (tickets cannot be redeemed) the Golden Kela Awards are a sort of payback to the Bollywood sensibilities. Releasing this March end, the awards are all set to test mercurial temperatures of our superstars. Anant Singh, Creative Head, Golden Kela Awards, in a tête-à-tête with One World News…
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On what basis are the movies judged as worst or best?
There are three criteria on which we judge films…originality, engagement and entertainment. The film should be doing something that has never been done before. The film should engage the audience at a level deeper than fart jokes and cheap thrills. And above all, the film should be fun to watch. The more of these factors the film fails on, the worse it is and the better it lives up to these, the better it is. To put it simply, the best films are the ones we like to watch again and again and the worst ones are the ones we wouldn’t watch again even if someone paid us to.
Deepika Padukone has received best actress this year for her tremendous acting skills and hard work, still she is one of the nominee’s for worst actress for Chennai express, and on same grounds ‘Tum hi ho’ has been like an anthem for love and romance, also receiving a filmfare as well, similarly, so many other songs that have topped the chart-buster even then they have been nominated as worst songs, why?
Sandra Bullock won the Razzie for All About Steve in the same year that she won the Oscar for Blind Side. We have given the Golden Kela to Kangana Ranaut and Priyanka Chopra for the same film (Fashion) that won them many awards including the National Award. A good performance in one film (or a performance that for some reason has been called good by some people) is no guarantee for the same in another. We feel Deepika’s so called ‘tremendous acting skills’ are nowhere to be found in Chennai Express, so she’s been nominated. If people think she has done a good job, they won’t vote for her and someone else will win the award
As far as the songs are concerned, our category is not called ‘Worst Song’, it is called ‘Most Irritating Song’. And the nominees are songs which have become popular far beyond they deserve to…songs which have started irritating normal people by being played everywhere they go – on the radio, on TV, in clubs and restaurants, even blasting out of cars all around you. And on that criterion, Tum hi Ho is one of the most sickening songs of last year along with the other nominees.
What is the idea behind this Award Ceremony?
The idea behind this award ceremony is to remind the audience and the industry that making money should not be the sole criterion to judge a film. We stand against the formulaic, mediocre, unoriginal cinema that becomes successful by attaching star power, big budgets and publicity blitzes to it. We seek to change the culture that promotes looks and birth over talent. More than everything else, we are huge movie geeks and Bollywood fans who want revenge for the money we wasted on films that we did not like (and don’t even get us started on the popcorn).
What is your idea of movies? / What should a movie be like?
Movies should be original, engaging and entertaining.
What do you think people should know before they spend their hard earned money on any movie?
People should know who the director is (and have an idea of the kind of work the director has done in the past), what the movie is about (loosely) and the actors in the film. All these factors combined are not enough to guarantee a good movie but this is far better than going to a movie because it made 100crores.
A lot of times, critics have shunned movies which are really appreciated by the audience, what is your take on it?
We don’t give a lot of importance to most Indian critics, as they seem to be trapped in the mindset of judging films by the size of their budget and the glory of the stars rather than objective criteria. But we also don’t believe that anything that is “appreciated by the audience” (which essentially means that it made a lot of money) is a good film either.
Do you think that other award functions are biased?
Award functions in India are most definitely biased in favor of run-of-the mill mainstream cinema, they create special categories like ‘Critics Awards’ and ‘Jury’s Awards’ for the films that actually are worthy of being recognized and then give out the main awards to amazingly badly made films like Goliyon Ki Raas Leela Ram Leela.
Who do you think deserves best actor/actress award this year?
We don’t think anyone deserves the Best Actor Award more than Pankaj Kapoor for Matru Ki Bijli Ka Mandola this year. We hate the film (it’s even in some of the nominations) but speaking solely of the performance, there is not a single mainstream star today who could even aspire to be able to pull something like that off in twenty years. But our awards shows will never give that award to him…even if Matru was a huge success and critically appreciated, Pankaj Kapoor is not the kind of person Indian awards would ever consider for Best Actor, because he’s not a star.
If you had to compare movies of today with movies of past 5 years, tell us that one worst movie of that time, which you think would have made a blockbuster today?
We have been around for the past 6 years, giving out these awards each year. The worst movies were huge blockbusters back then and they are huge blockbusters today. Nothing has changed. Some bad films do flop and most good films make money, but the blockbusters are mind numbing messes of mediocrity from Dhoom to Dhoom 3, from Krrish to Krrish 3 (where the hell is Krrish 2?).
Do you think the standard of movies/music/lyrics has fallen?
We don’t think the standards have fallen. There were a lot of bad movies/music/lyrics in the past too…we just forget what is bad in the past and hang on to the good stuff. We’re pretty sure that the movies we nominate for the Kelas will be forgotten in fifteen twenty years. When future generations will watch these movies it will be to make fun of how much money they made despite being so bad. But good stuff is also constantly being made.
What are the parameters by which you nominate for various categories?
In the acting categories overacting, repetitive performances and clichéd performances are some of the strict no-nos. And then we also have those that have become actors solely by virtue of who they’re related to and don’t show even a tiny bit of talent. In the other categories unoriginality, mediocrity and just downright insults to the audience’s intelligence are our criteria. When faced with two equally bad nominees one of whom has to be removed, we will nominate the one with more money and connections to back them.
Don’t you think it’s an insult to the person’s performance in the movie?
On a regular job, when you’re not fulfilling the duties assigned to you satisfactorily…the client has a right to tell you that they don’t like what you have done. In the movie business, the audience is the end client. If even one person in the audience feels that they have been cheated of their hard earned money, they have the right to express that opinion. It is not meant as an insult to the hard work that has been put in…or as an insult to the person who did it. It just means you tried, we didn’t like what you did with it…don’t do that in the future. Try something else
We are doing a light-hearted tongue in cheek ceremony, where we take a critical look at Bollywood…if that is considered an insult by anyone, then they have no right to be a public figure.
Has any actor/director till date accused you for their nomination?
We have had a lot of responses from Bollywood over the years – from Abhishek Bachchan, Kareena Kapoor, SRK, Sonam Kapoor, Anushka Sharma, Imran Khan (all reacting to nominations or wins) and Aamir Khan (who had never been nominated…until this year, for Dhoom 3). Most of them have taken it with a pinch of salt (as was our intention all along). Shah Rukh even mentioned the Kelas in a talk he gave at an American University and the popular lyricist Anvita Dutt came to the ceremony last year to accept her Award for Most Atrocious Lyrics (for Ishq Wala Love), with Karan Johar’s blessings. So, nobody has really come out and said anything against us…they either don’t think we’re important enough to be acknowledged, or they actually have a sense of humor and an ability to laugh at themselves
P.S:
The group has also announced Anti-Kela awards which are honor awards for best performances. Saheb Biwi aur gangster returns, Go Goa Gone, The Lunchbox, Shahid will be honored with the prestigious Anti Kelas, considering that they are most deserving and clear cut winners, according to the panel, Golden Kea Awards.
“The Kela Awards are not just about highlighting the worst performances of the year, we feel its also our duty to point out some of the great work being done in the Indian film industry, therefore the Anti-Kelas,” clarifies Anant.
And the award goes to…
1. Saheb Biwi aur Gangster returns – For being the only real sequel made last year.
2. Go Goa Gone – For being India’s first ever Zombie Comedy and Stoner Film in one nice package.
3. The Lunchbox- For showing the world that not every Indian film is only song and dance.
4. Shahid- For being the best biopic made by Bollywood in a long time.
The 6th Annual Golden Kela Awards ceremony will take place on March 29, 2014 at India Habitat Centre, New Delhi.
Other than announcing the worst bollywood performances of the year 2013 and anti kela awards, some Special Awards will be announced at the official awards ceremony, like Aakhir Kyun Award, Dara Singh Award for Worst Accent, Bas Kijiye Bahut Ho Gaya, Aap Yahaan Aaye Kisliye Award and Ra.One Award for Worst Premise.
Golden kela Awards started in the year 2009 are in its 6th year whereas Anti-Kela awards were introduced by Golden Kela team in the year 2011. The Kela Awards are making their presence felt strongly all over.
Voting lines are open till 28th March’ 2014. Log on to www.goldenkela.com to check out the categories for Golden Kelas, nominees, updates and cast a vote for vengeance.
