Gaddar Awards: Dil Raju faces allegations of favoritism

The inaugural Gaddar Telangana Film Awards, instituted by the Telangana government to honor cinematic excellence from 2014 to 2023, have stirred a major controversy in the Telugu film industry. Dil Raju, acclaimed producer and chairman of the Telangana Film Development Corporation (TFDC), is at the center of the storm, facing allegations of favoritism and political balancing in the selection of awardee.

Named after revolutionary poet and activist Gaddar, the awards aim to celebrate standout Telugu films released since the formation of Telangana in June 2014. Announced on May 30, 2025, the honors span a full decade of cinema, with Best Picture and Special Jury Awards for each year from 2014 to 2023, in addition to recognitions for 2024. The upcoming ceremony, scheduled for June 14, 2025, also features categories such as Best Film, Best Urdu Film, and commemorative awards named after cinema legends like Kanta Rao and Paidi Jairaj.

Credibility crisis

Prominent winners include Allu Arjun for Best Actor, Vijay Deverakonda for the Kanta Rao Film Award, and critically acclaimed blockbusters like Baahubali and RRR. Yet the celebrations have been marred by a wave of criticism alleging that the awards were strategically distributed to appease competing factions in the industry.

Social media has been abuzz with skepticism. Many say the awards are not transparent. Deserving movies were side-lined, while others got awarded for the wrong reasons.

The backlash has drawn comparisons to the 2014 Nandi Awards scandal, where filmmakers including Gunasekhar and producer Nallamalupu Bujji accused the Andhra Pradesh government of favoritism and caste-based lobbying. The Gaddar Awards, designed to re-establish the credibility of state-backed film honors after a 14-year gap, now face a similar credibility crisis.

All camps accommodated!

Critics claim that Dil Raju, a producer with longstanding ties across Tollywood, may have prioritized political and industry equilibrium over artistic merit in an effort to avoid alienating powerful camps. A particularly controversial choice was the inclusion of Razakar, a film accused by the Telangana Praja Samskrutika Vedika of portraying Telangana society in a negative light. The group’s president condemned the film’s recognition as “atrocious” and also questioned the awards conferred to Allu Arjun and director Nag Ashwin—further intensifying the perception of bias.

In response to the controversy, Dil Raju defended the integrity of the process, asserting during a press conference that the jury had complete autonomy. The committee was initially chaired by veteran actor Murali Mohan and later by actress Jayasudha. Dil Raju appealed to both the media and industry insiders not to politicize the awards, emphasizing that the intent was to celebrate the richness and diversity of Telugu cinema over the past decade.