Kannada filmmaker Hemanth Rao had a rather unpleasant experience at the IIFA Awards this year and he complained that even after inviting him and making him wait till 3 am, he was not given an award. The filmmaker called the incident "extremely disrespectful", and clarified that he was not upset over not receiving an award, but because his time was wasted.
Rao, who is known for directing the 2023 hit, Sapta Saagaradaache Ello, took to his Instagram and lashed out at IIFA. "The whole IIFA experience was such a massive inconvenience and extremely disrespectful. I’ve been in this business for over a decade and this wasn't my first stint at award shows. Its always been a case where the winners are flown in and hosted for the event. For context, I was sat till 3 AM in the morning only to realize there was no award. The same happened to my Music Director: Charan Raj," he wrote.
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He went on to say, "It's your award. You can give it to whoever you want to. That's your choice!! I haven’t won MANY awards and haven't lost sleep over it, so these grapes aren't sour. If all the other nominees were invited and one winner emerged out of it. I wouldn't bother getting irritated. Also, the format this year was just to hand out the award. The nominees weren’t even mentioned."
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"Maybe it's been a while for you and your team to realize it. Your award shows run on the talent that you put on your stage. NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. I don't need your award to enjoy the best job in the world. Next time you need me on your stage… and TRUST ME…you will. Take your award and keep it where the sun doesn't shine," Rao stated.
"Everything has a silver lining. Mine was to see several of my team members go up on stage and recieve a bunch of awards. It wasnt a complete waste of time," he added.
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Netizens came out in Rao's support and lauded him for voicing out his dissent instead of letting it slide.
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The IIFA Awards was a three-day extravaganza held in Abu Dhabi. The first day of the event, called IIFA Utsavam, celebrated and rewarded the South film industry, and Rao's film was nominated on that day.