Kannada filmmaker calls out IIFA for THIS reason, Siddharth says, ‘Disrespect towards artists will not end’

Hemanth Rao, Siddharth Pic/Instagram

The new edition of the International Indian Film Academy Awards (IIFA) took place in Abu Dhabi from September 27 to September 29. The three-day celebration kicked off with IIFA Utsavam, an event dedicated to the southern film industries--Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, and Kannada. Filmmaker Hemanth Rao has called out the organizers for being made to wait for hours and eventually not giving him an award as promised.

Filmmaker Hemanth Rao made to wait till 3 AM

Sharing a comprehensive statement on Instagram, Hemanth wrote, "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. It's 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."

IIFA awards were given without announcing nominees

Rao accused the awards of being given without mentioning the nominees. He continued, "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."

Hemanth Rao calls IIFA 2024 a complete waste of time

"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 don't shine. Everything has a silver lining. Mine was to see several of my team members go up on stage and receive a bunch of awards. It wasn't a complete waste of time," he concluded.

Actor Siddharth reacted to the post and wrote, "Sorry to know you and Charan had to go through this... disrespect towards artists at the hands of these middlemen will not end...but props to you for speaking out."

Hemanth Rao rose to fame for directing films like 'Godhi Banna Sadharana Mykattu' and 'Sapta Saagaradaache Ello' - Side A and Side B. He also worked as one of the screenwriters for 'Andhadhun' starring Ayushmann Khurrana, Tabu, and Radhika Apte.