Filmmaker Rohit Shetty has shared his thoughts on the irony of never winning any awards despite delivering numerous blockbusters. Recently attending an event for The Indian National Cine Academy (INCA), Shetty humorously remarked, “Mere aur awards ka door-door tak koi rishta-naata nahi hai. 17 filmein ho gayi hai, sirf hosting ke liye jaata hoon” (There is absolutely no connection between me and awards. I have done 17 films and only been invited there for hosting).
Actor Manoj Tiwari, who was also present at the event, shared his own experiences with award recognition. He recalled working on a Bhojpuri film in 2004, which was made for Rs. 30 lakhs but went on to earn Rs. 54 crores. “Yet, neither the director got a single award nor its writer was honoured,” he said, laughing. “Even I didn’t win any award. Hence, I’d like to thank Vishnu.”
Tiwari further commented, “We have always been told in this country ki hamesha ek lambi line kheench dijiye. Woh Vishnu ne kiya hai. I am fully aware of the capability of Mr Vishnu Induri. We in Bihar do watch Hindi cinema. We have a population of 34 crore Bhojpuri residents. We did not know who worked in Chennai or Hyderabad. Vishnu gave us a platform and now we know everyone. Hence, I believe that INCA is a big step and it’ll be something to watch out for.”
For those unfamiliar, INCA aims to encourage collaboration, knowledge-sharing, transparency, and credible recognition across various languages, regions, and crafts.
The announcement of INCA was made in a gathering of prominent filmmakers, producers, artists, and cultural figures from across the country. This included the likes of Rohit Shetty, Anand L. Rai, Prosenjit Chatterjee, Dil Raju, Manoj Tiwari, Navraj Hans, Manmohan Shetty, Khushbu Sundar, Lakshmi Manchu, Ankur Garg, and Vishnu Vardhan Induri, reinforcing a broad spectrum of voices in the industry. The Producers Guild of India is the Chief Patron of this initiative.
Vishnu Vardhan Induri, the Founder of INCA, emphasized, “INCA is being built with intent, integrity, and purpose. Our goal is to create a permanent national institution that enables collaboration across industries, celebrates excellence fairly, and builds a universal talent database for Indian cinema.”
Shibasish Sarkar, President of the Producers Guild of India, added, “INCA represents an important step towards institutionalizing collaboration, credibility, and transparent processes in building a unified awards platform that celebrates all Indian languages equally and credibly. The Guild is pleased to support this initiative as Chief Patron.”
The first edition of the INCA Awards is slated to take place on March 9, marking a significant milestone in the establishment of this new national institution.
The Indian National Cine Academy aims to go beyond merely serving as an awards platform. It envisions a national ecosystem for Indian cinema that includes an annual Cinema Conclave, a transparent and process-driven awards framework, and the creation of a universal database of actors, technicdigihunt, and creative professionals across twelve Indian film industries. This database aims to facilitate cross-industry and cross-regional collaboration, ultimately strengthening the Indian film ecosystem.