New Delhi: Shah Rukh Khan winning his first-ever National Film Award for Jawan (2023) has sparked a debate online. While many see it as a long-overdue recognition, others argue that Jawan wasn’t the film that deserved it.
SRK tied for the Best Actor award at the 71st National Film Awards with Vikrant Massey, who won it for his performance for 12th Fail. The news was announced by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today.
But, according to some fans, Jawan was just an “average film” and SRK getting the National Award for it and not Swades (2004) is “disrespecting his legacy” which has hits like Chak De! India (2007).
“As a Shah Rukh Khan fan, I’m saying this, Jawan did not deserve a National Award, Not even close,” a user wrote on X, adding, “Shah Rukh deserved an Oscar for Chak De! India, but didn’t even deserve a Kamla Pasand award for Jawan.”
Another said, “SRK has a remarkable filmography. Yet they kept ignoring him for years and now they choose Jawan for the National Award?”
One of the users said SRK winning the National Award for Jawan is equivalent to a “chef getting an award for making chutney when he has already made a great five course meal.”
One of the X posts read: “Vikrant Massey truly earned it for 12th Fail. Sharing it with SRK for a mediocre Jawan feels undeserved.”
“Jawan and Pathan are the worst films of srk, we deserve better,” read a tweet.
Also read: SRK is now a National Award winner 33 years after his acting debut
‘SRK deserved it’
A section of fans also came in defence of the actor saying that even though the film doesn’t deserve it, SRK does. That said, one cannot unsee the fact that Martin Scorsese won the Oscar for The Departed (2006), and not for classics like Taxi Driver (1976), Raging Bull (1980) and Goodfellas (1990). Actor Al Pacino did not win an Oscar for his role in The Godfather (1972), which is arguably one of his finest works, but he did win the Best Actor award for his performance in Scent of a Woman (1992).
“It is srk who got national award not jawan,” a user wrote on X.
SRK made his comeback to the big screen with Pathaan after a four-year hiatus in 2023. Months after the film’s success, Jawan, directed by Atlee, was released.
Jawan was about a common man’s fight against the wrongs in society and the government. It explored themes of farmer suicides, corruption in the healthcare system, faulty weapons supplied to the army, and the importance of asking critical questions before elections.
The film had a strong worldwide box office performance, earning over Rs 1,160 crore gross. In India, Jawan collected over Rs 700 crore at the box office.
(Edited by Aamaan Alam Khan)