Sudani from Nigeria crew to boycott National Film Awards ceremony in protest against Citizenship Amendment Act, confirms director

The crew of the national award winning movie Sudani from Nigeria has decided to bocyott the National awards function in protest against the Citizenship (Amendment) Act. The Soubin Shahir-starrer bagged the National award for the Best Malayalam film in 66th National Film Awards. According to The Telegraph, the ceremony is scheduled to take place in New Delhi on 23 December.

A still from Sudani From Nigeria. YouTube

Director Zakariya Mohammed took to Facebook, protesting against CAA and the National Register of Citizens (NRC). "Protesting against CAA and National Register of Citizens, I, as the director of Sudani from Nigeria, along with scriptwriter Muhsin Parari and the producers of the film, will not attend the National Award ceremony," he posted.

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Sudani from Nigeria is a 2018 Malayalam comedy-drama sports film, written and directed by Mohammed, with dialogues co-written by Muhsin Parari.

The story follows a Nigerian football player (Samuel Abiola Robinson) who joins a club in Malappuram, Kerala for the sevens football match. The movie, which was a commercial success, won five awards at the 2018 Kerala State Film Awards, including Best Screenplay, Best Film with Popular Appeal and Aesthetic Value, Best Debut Director, Best Actor (Shahir), and Best Character Actress (Savithri Sreedharan and Sarasa).

At the 2018 National Film Awards, besides the award for Best Feature Film in Malayalam, Savithri Sreedharan received a Special Mention for her performance in the film.

The Indian Express reports that last week, the team of Mammootty's Unda had raised slogans against CAA and NRC at the Kerala International Film Festival. Copies of the act were burnt by several activists and festival delegates.

Last year, the award distribution function was marred by a row when it was announced that the President would hand over only a few awards and the rest would be given away by the then
Information and Broadcasting Minister Smriti Irani.

Protest against this, which was against the established practice, nearly 60 National Film Award recipients skipped the ceremony held in New Delhi.

(With inputs from Press Trust of India)