With May fast approaching, the National Awards committees have been put in place. Director Shekhar Kapur has been appointed as the head of the jury for the 65th National Awards to be held on 3 May this year. The jury has been divided into five regional panels with 10 members each.
Apart from Kapur, writer Imtiaz Hussain of Parinda (1989) and Astitva (2000) fame will head the South I panel, while lyricist Mehboob will be the chairperson of South II panel.
Actress Gautami Tadimalla has been appointed as the chairperson of the North regional panel, while Arjun (1985) director Rahul Rawail has been chosen to head the Western panel.
The Eastern panel will see director P Sheshadri take charge. Sheshadri is a well-known name in Kannada cinema.
Other members of the jury include Pink (2016) director Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury, playwright Tripurari Sharma, and National Award winning director, Rajesh Mapuskar.