Entertainment
‘Awards Changed After PM Modi Came’: Anant Nag Claims ‘Nepotism, Favouritism’ Were Rampant Earlier
Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient Anant Nag has spoken about his experience of India’s awards system, alleging that favouritism influenced selections in the past while crediting PM Narendra Modi with changing the process.
Veteran actor Anant Nag, who has been named the recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024, has sparked a conversation with his comments about how film and national honours were selected in the past.
The 78-year-old actor alleged that “nepotism” and “favouritism” once influenced award selections and credited Prime Minister Narendra Modi with changing the system after coming to power.
Nag made the remarks after the government announced that he would receive Indian cinema’s highest honour for his contribution to the industry over a career spanning more than five decades.
What Anant Nag Said About Awards
Speaking to PTI, Nag alleged that award selections previously involved favouritism and nepotism, before saying: “But Modi changed it.” He linked the change to greater public participation in recommending people for national honours.
Nag’s comments represent his assessment of how the awards process has evolved; they should not be read as an independently established finding that earlier award selections were determined by nepotism or favouritism.
The actor also referred to the system of seeking public recommendations for honours such as the Padma Awards, saying people from Karnataka had recommended his name.
Dadasaheb Phalke Award Announced for Anant Nag
The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting announced on September 16 that Nag had been selected for the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for 2024 on the recommendation of the award selection committee.
The government said the honour recognises his “outstanding and invaluable contribution” to the growth and development of Indian cinema and his cinematic journey of more than five decades.
Nag will formally receive the honour at the 72nd National Film Awards ceremony in Kevadia, Gujarat, on September 22, 2026.
‘I Have Not Been Here for Awards’
Despite receiving Indian cinema’s highest honour, Nag said awards were never the reason he chose acting as a profession.
He explained that recognition was welcome, but what mattered more to him throughout his career was the response he received from audiences.
For an actor who has spent decades moving between theatre, Kannada cinema and Hindi parallel cinema, that relationship with viewers appears to remain more important than trophies.
Acting Wasn’t Anant Nag’s First Career Choice
Nag’s journey into acting was itself unexpected.
Growing up with roots in coastal Karnataka before spending time in Mumbai, he initially wanted to join the armed forces.
According to Nag, his attempt to join the Air Force ended after he was rejected because of weakness in his left eye. He subsequently tried for the Army, but said he was around 10 pounds under the required weight.
Then theatre entered his life.
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Nag received an opportunity to perform in a play a decision that eventually changed the direction of his career.
From Theatre to Shyam Benegal’s Parallel Cinema
Before establishing himself on the big screen, Nag spent years performing in theatre across multiple languages.
His stage career included productions in Kannada, Konkani, Tulu, Marathi and Gujarati, helping him develop the understated acting style that would later become one of his trademarks.
Nag subsequently became an important presence in Indian parallel cinema and worked with filmmaker Shyam Benegal on acclaimed projects including Ankur, Nishant, Manthan, Bhumika, Kondura and Kalyug.
He would go on to build an extensive career across Indian cinema, particularly in the Kannada film industry, where he became one of its most recognisable performers.
Why Anant Nag Stepped Away From Acting
At 78, Nag says his relationship with acting has changed.
The veteran performer said he has received a large number of scripts in recent years but struggled to find characters matching what he now wants to portray.
Nag acknowledged that a new generation of filmmakers has its own ideas and approach to storytelling. After reading scripts and considering the parts being offered to him, he said he eventually felt that he was “not needed here.”
He said he stopped acting around three years ago and has since devoted more time to meditation and contemplation.
Rather than constantly revisiting his decades-long career, Nag prefers looking ahead.
“The best thing is to go on,” he said.
Remembering Brother Shankar Nag
The Dadasaheb Phalke recognition also brought memories of Nag’s late brother, celebrated actor-filmmaker Shankar Nag.
Anant said his brother would have been “mighty pleased” to see him receive the honour, even though Shankar himself was not particularly interested in awards.
For Anant Nag, the latest recognition arrives after more than five decades in Indian entertainment a journey that began not with dreams of cinema or trophies, but with an unexpected opportunity to step onto a theatre stage.
