Guwahati: The Assam State Film Awards ceremony has been mired in controversy after it emerged that Nahid Afrin was awarded the Best Playback Singer (Woman) award for a song she had “not sung”.
Minister for Cultural Affairs Bimal Borah has since clarified that Nahid Afrin was selected for the award, not the song, as her name was mentioned in the application form submitted by the producer of the movie ‘Nijanor Gaan’.
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He added that there might have been a human error which led to the confusion and that there was no need for her to return the award.
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However, the same was not said by Minister Pijush Hazarika and the views of the people in the government seemed to be quite conflicting.
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Pijush Hazarika speaking on the issue said that Nahid Afrin should return the award.
He claimed that the Jury of the award or the government was not to be blamed here adding that Nahid Afrin should have clarified that she did not sing the song for which she was awarded.
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He added that the producer or director had suggested her name in terms of the award.
Hazarika also claimed that the Jury could not verify the particular song saying that women have similar voices.
The Pratima Pandey Barua Award was given to Nahid Afrin for the song ‘Neelate Luka Bhaku’, which was actually sung by Rupjyoti Devi and Zubeen Garg.
This sparked a huge outcry on social media and highlighted the need to review the selection process for the awards.