52nd Filmfare Award Nominations: Something's Odd

The nominations for the 52nd Filmfare Awards are out. I just saw that list, and something doesn't seem quite right with it. Filmfare awards have never been a measure of artistic excellence. They depend largely on public opinion, and the list is almost always dominated by more popular films. So if Omkara, one of my favourite films of 2006, doesn't get a nod for Best Film, I have no issues. But I find this year's list quite odd because of another reason.

I want to ask the Filmfare guys one question - what's with six nominations in many categories? Aren't Filmfare awards supposed to have five nominations per category? Since nominations are based on public votes, it is very much possible that for some category the nominees at the fifth and sixth place get exactly the same number of votes. But six nominations in four categories? That's one helluva coincidence. I just couldn't buy that, so I decided to delve deeper into the nomination list. Voila, a pattern emerged! Consider this:

• Film A, directed by one of the most successful directors and featuring A-list stars, can theoretically qualify for awards in all popular categories except two: actor in a comic role and actor in a Villainous role. That's simply because it had no comic or villainous roles.
• It gets nominated for all the categories it qualifies for
• If it ranks among the top 5, the list has only five nominees
• If it doesn't, the category has 6 nominations, and the film gets an nomination

Now which film am I talking about? One of the most talked about films of the year - Kabhi Alvida Naa Kehna, of course.

So is this case of Filmfare trying to remain in the good books of Karan Johar and Shahrukh Khan. Maybe this theory of mine is just a figment of my unreasonably fertile imagination, maybe it's just a coincidence. After all Hindi films are all about coincidences, aren't they? But isn't the possibility I just mentioned above also very plausible?

Of course, I don't have any additional information - except the list itself - to support my theory, but it's an interesting possibility. And, it can surely provide fodder to delicious industry gossip!!