Filmmaker Shekhar Kapur has been appointed the chairperson of the central jury panel for the 65th National Film Awards, PTI reported citing sources in the Information and Broadcasting Ministry.
The government-appointed central panel comprises a chairperson and 10 members, which include the heads of five regional panels. Films are selected under various categories through a two-tier process that involves the regional and central panels.
Screenwriter Imtiaz Hussain (Parinda and Astitva) has been appointed head of the South I regional panel. Lyricist Mehboob, best known for his collaborations with AR Rahman, is the chairperson of the South II panel. Actress Gautami Tadimalla heads the North Panel and director Rahul Rawail, known for films such as Betaab and Arjun, heads the Western panel. Kannada director P Sheshadri chairs the Eastern panel.
The central panel members are filmmakers Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, Ranjit Das and Rajesh Mapuskar, playwright Tripurari Sharma and screenwriter Rumi Jaffery.
The National Film Awards are administered by the government’s Directorate of Film Festivals. This year’s ceremony will be held on May 3.