Though the year's National awards had 13 ones going for Mollywood, the film buffs are lamenting that they are fooled in the case of the Best actor selection. The thinking cine-buffs who had seen the megastar Mammootty's three films in the race for the best, is left stunned as he is now left without any decent consolations, not even a special mention. Amitabh Bachchan, the towering star of Hindi cinema who is said to have done a commendable role, playing a 12 year old boy with progeria in 'Paa' has bagged the Best Actor award.

Though Amitabh's performance need to be appreciated, many eyebrows as raised as the triple role in Ranjith's 'Palery Manickyam', and in 'Kutty Shrank' is found as inferior to that in 'Paa'.

“Amitabh Bachchan's eyes didn’t even communicate with the audience in 'Paa'”, says director Ranjith. The role that he displayed in Pa. is more of a wizardry of makeup man than the actor in him. “Even Sasi Kozhikode who did an important role in my film 'Pranchiyettan and the Saint' can do the role with effectiveness if the make up man did the same job on him”, comments, an irritated Ranjith. The director of the best film of the year, Shaji N Karun also feels sorry for Mammootty and maintains that it was him who rightly deserved the award.

Many critics opine that it's the stature and voice of Bachchan that plays a big part in getting him an award, rather than his emotive abilities. Be it in the case of his previous ‘Agnipath’ or ‘Black', his every award had been enmeshed in some sort of controversies, and this time too it's not much different.

The majority points out that even after delivering three best performances in a single year, one after the other, and which were truly distinct in every sense, it is a real shame for the jury to bypass Mammootty's efforts and make no notes of the versatility of an actor who was all set to land into his fourth national award, in fact thus becoming the first person to grab a fourth, of the India's highest accolades.

Apart from the Ramesh Sippy factor, this it self could be one reason that could have made the jury men to limit one of the best actor of the south, a valued accomplishment.