Let’s face it. The awards have become a bit of a sham. And we the people have realized that there is a lot more than performance involved. Sadly the awards have either come down to a recognition of political or bureaucratic connections or of the herd like imbecility of the vox populi…the voice of the people.

This year too, in close succession to the Sachin Tendulkar imbroglio (which naturally set off a chain reaction of demands for PV Narasimha Rao, NTR etc.) the names that have been announced sparked off an immediate frenzy of derision. Initially I was too amused to react but then a few names and the reactions they had invoked prompted me to look closely at the issue…at least from my perspective.

The names that I gave serious thought to were Kamalahaasan, Vidya Balan and Md. Ali Baig. I did consider Gopichand but then I dropped him at the nets. I have not formed any opinion, considered or otherwise, of a man who seems to be in the limelight for more female reasons than the game demands.

Talking of Kamal let me confess I am biased. I don’t particularly care for the man. I deplore his morals and pity his multifarious attempts to always do something different. If you look at his track record as an actor you may notice this trait…he was a dancer in one film, a dumb fellow in another, in one film he played some seven or ten roles, in another he used special effects to the max. So while I accept that he is talented I don’t think he deserves an award. But yes, I can understand why a different mind set may indeed allow the honor.

But when it comes to Vidya Balan I am appalled. I thought we had all gone mad when Sanjay Dutt was recognized as a patriot when he introduced Gandhigiri but awarding Vidya for a big smile of a Good Morning Mumbai or for the depiction of a dirty picture takes the cake. She is pleasant enough. Not really poster girl material perhaps but easy on the eye. She is a competent actor not an extraordinary one. In fact her roles seem to have taken center stage for the courage she displayed in accepting those roles. Well I feel that if courage has to be rewarded, maybe she should have been considered for a Vir Chakra or even a Param Vir Chakra. But a Padma award worthy actor she definitely is not, well not in my books anyway.

At this stage I am reminded of Amitabh Bachchan. He was the keynote speaker at the Advertising Congress held at Jaipur a few years back. In his speech he admitted that he was a beneficiary of the times and the Director/Storytellers who gave him the opportunity. “I was not and am not the angry young man” he said. And explained how he just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Vidya Balan I feel is also in the same category…and the test is simple…if anyone else had done her roles would they have done better, worse or as good. It doesn’t matter, she has benefitted from role picking and that is sad.

The third name Md. Ali Baig is the pleasant surprise. Now if you are in Hyderabad or connected to theatre in some way you would have heard of this name. And of the Qadir Ali Baig Theatre Foundation that he has spear headed since inception and made it a theatre force to reckon with. I am sure you’ve heard comments that suggest that Md. Ali Baig is a well connected, brilliant marketing man…that he is the master of packaging…that his father was an actor but nothing to write home about, and definitely not a doyen as he is projected to be…that Md. Ali Baig should stick to being a master producer and not dare to come on to stage…oh the list of derisive comments is long and confusing.

I for one decided long ago that I would ignore all these comments and avoid getting pulled into any controversy. Not for any other reason but for the fact that I saw something being done for the greater good of theatre and of Hyderabad, indeed India. And I must admit that as an Impresario this man has been nothing short of genius.

The kind of acts that he has managed to bring to Hyderabad and presented to the audiences at home are nothing short of magical. Whether it is performances or whether it is lectures, interactions and workshops we’ve had the best of the best. So my way of thinking is this…if the price we have to pay for such qualitative improvements in our theatre calendar is to accept that while Md. Ali Baig may not be a wonderful actor, or whether Qadir Ali Baig was not really a doyen or even that he is a better marketer than a dramatist, so be it.

But he has done for theatre much that deserves to be appreciated, acknowledged and awarded. And if the Padma Sri gives him joy, let’s just sing the old Beatles number and say…Let it be, let it be…