Mainul Hossain Pinnu | Bangladesh Trial Report

The Ministry of Information and Broadcasting is considering reviewing the official notification announcing the 2023 National Film Awards following controversy over the published list of winners. The move comes amid allegations that the jury’s recommendations were disregarded in several categories, including Lifetime Achievement and Best Screenplay. The ministry has already begun contacting jury members informally and says the review process will begin soon.

In the Lifetime Achievement category, two individuals named in the notification—film director Tareque Masud, who died on August 13, 2011, and cinematographer and director Abdul Latif Bachchu, who died on January 4, 2026—passed away before the notification was published. However, Clause 1(b) of the National Film Awards rules specifies that only living individuals are eligible for consideration for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Following publication of the notification, allegations also emerged that an individual had received the Best Screenplay Award despite not having written the screenplay for the film Roktojoba.

It is learnt that the jury had recommended actress Shabnam and actor Ilyas Javed for the Lifetime Achievement Award.

Maksud Jamil Mintu, a member of the National Film Awards committee, alleged that the jury’s verdict had not been fully reflected in one or two categories besides Lifetime Achievement.

“As a jury member, I have always wanted the published notification for awards of this kind to fully reflect the judges’ verdicts. Therefore, a review would be a positive step,” he said.

He added, “All the jury members had agreed on the results. There was no disagreement among us over the Lifetime Achievement Award or the awards in other categories. However, after the notification was published, we found that the jury’s verdict had not been fully reflected in one or two categories besides Lifetime Achievement.”

He stressed the need for a review to address such discrepancies.

Another jury member, Nazmun Munira Nancy, said she had noticed that the jury’s opinions had been disregarded in several instances after the notification was published.

“I believe it is the government’s responsibility to ensure that the National Film Awards remain transparent and free from controversy. It would therefore be better to review the results afresh,” she said.

Nancy also said she would be willing to make time if she were invited again as a jury member to participate in the review.