The announcement of the 71st National Awards brought unexpected backlash, especially over Shah Rukh Khan being named Best Actor. The criticism is not due to any personal dislike for King Khan. Instead, the core issue is the choice of Jawan as the film that earned him this prestigious award.
Jawan is a regular commercial action entertainer. Yes, Shah Rukh delivered strongly in a dual role. The emotional flashback portions worked well, no doubt about it. But beyond that, director Atlee’s storytelling followed a routine commercial template. The film appealed to mass audiences and raked in massive collections. But does box office success automatically justify a National Award for acting? That’s where many netizens are drawing the line.
The larger argument online is this, Shah Rukh has acted in many better films in the past. Take Swades for example. Even today, that film hits deep. In Devdas, his performance drew comparisons to Dilip Kumar. In Rab Ne Bana Di Jodi, the two distinct shades he portrayed were iconic. His negative roles in Darr, Anjaam, and Baazigar are still celebrated. Even films like Asoka and Dil Se might have flopped, but are still considered among his best. Compared to all these, Jawan just does not match up, at least according to movie lovers and film critics.
This doesn’t mean Jawan is a bad film. It clearly worked with the audience. But whether it had the artistic weight to fetch a National Award is where opinions start to split. Over the last few years, the trend of honoring commercially successful films has grown stronger in these awards. That shift is now triggering debates like this one.
Regardless of what critics say, Shah Rukh fans are over the moon. They are already waiting for the moment when he receives the award from the President. As for director Atlee, this is undeniably a proud moment. Many legendary directors couldn’t help Shah Rukh win a National Award, but Atlee did.
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