The 71st National Film Awards, which were announced on August 1, 2025, have sparked quite a few debates, discussions and controversies. Among the various conversations, three awards in particular have been widely discussed for all the wrong reasons. These include Best Actor (Shah Rukh Khan - Jawan), Best Director (Sudipto Sen - The Kerala Story), and Best Cinematography (Prasantanu Mohapatra - The Kerala Story). The Kerala Story has been a topic of discussion among many. A few days ago, Kerala CM Pinarayi Vijayan slammed the awards, and now, Malayalam film director Jeo Baby has lashed out at the National Awards for giving awards to The Kerala Story.

Jeo Baby's stance on The Kerala Story

For the unversed, Jeo's film Kaathal - The Core, was also among the frontrunners for National Awards this year. However, it ended up without any awards. During an interview with Hindustan Times, the filmmaker was asked if he is disappointed that his movie didn't win an award.

He stated, "Personally, I’ve no such disappointment. But the awards given to The Kerala Story, a movie that misrepresented facts, are hugely disappointing. Not only was the movie full of lies, but it was also shoddily made. The script, direction and acting were below par. Such misrepresentation of facts is quite scary."