Joy Mathew takes a jibe at his fellow actors who boycotted the National Award Ceremony.

Joy Mathew is not known for mincing his words. He is sharp as much as he is popular. The actor-director who is riding high on his success of his recent venture ‘Uncle’ yesterday took a jibe at his fellow actors who refused to attend the award ceremony. Apparently, a lot of artists across different movie industries were not happy with the idea of receiving the award from Smriti Irani and not from the Indian president. The incident has seriously split the opinion among artists and Joy Mathew was eloquent in his typical fashion.

see also: President Ram Nath Kovind’s first National Film Awards in strike

Joy Mathew said that the award committee is selected by the party which is ruling the country and therefore the final decision is ultimately taken by the same body. So if someone had an issue with the way the government is functioning, they might as well should have opted not to submit their works for consideration. He said he is wondering if the President of India has given anyone a promise of delivering the award by himself. If a minor health issue had rendered the president incapacitated or if he had to attend a greater duty that concerned with the security of the nation, the president wouldn’t have been available either. In a more scathing remark, he added that the actors are happy taking awards from businessman who runs Undergarment and Pickle business, but somehow cannot take it from Smrithi Irani and that it is a logic he cannot understand.

Joy mathew felt that if the refusal of award was fuelled by the feelings of protest against the Kathua incident, it would have been more proper and dignified. He compared the obstinacy of actors to a kid who cries after losing his toys. The veteran exhorted the artists to make movies for generating viewership and not for awards.

The issue is seriously polarising the opinion among the actors. Except for the singer K J Yesudas and director Jayaraj, most of the other award winners from Mollywood chose to skip the function. The names include some of the biggest stars like Fahad Fasil, Parvathy etc.