"They said you can keep the award on the chair but I didn't feel like it. She took nearly 40 years to come to me. I dedicate this award to myself," said actor Revathi, smiling and radiant. She was speaking at the distribution ceremony of the Kerala State Film Awards in Thiruvananthapuram on Saturday, September 24. Revathy won the Best Actor (Female) award, her first one since she began her acting career, and through her one-and-a-half minute endearing speech, Revathi referred to the award as 'her'. She won it for her performance in the film Bhoothakalam, as the disturbed mother of a disturbed son.
At the end of May, when the awards were announced, it was Revathi's award that immediately won a lot of attention. For many, it was news that the actor, who has contributed so much to Malayalam cinema, has not yet won the award. Revathi has given some brilliant performances right from her early days. Fans had expected her to win recognition for her brilliant performance as Kakothi in Kakothikaavile Appuppanthaadikal in the late 1980s. For Kilukkam, still celebrated as one of the best comedies in Malayalam, she gave another memorable performance, as a woman pretending to have mental health issues. Devasuram, Puravirtham, Ottayadipathakal, Mangamma, Mayamayooram and Molly Aunty Rocks are some of her other notable works through the years. But even as she went on to win awards in other languages — a national one for her role in Thevar Magan, and two other national awards as a director — Revathi still did not receive accolades from the state of Kerala.
In our May interview, Revathy said that she did not feel the award was late. "An award is an award, it depends on what is in comparison and according to the perspective of the jury members of that particular year. If you don’t get an award, it doesn’t mean your performance is not good or that the film you did is not good. I have always been sure of the films that I have done," she said then.
For the Saturday ceremony, a beaming Revathi said that it is her parents who grew up in Kerala that will be most happy about this award. She also said, "I have received your love for many years through many films. But to get her (the award), it took these many years." She added, "I get many questions on who I am dedicating this award to. I want to dedicate it to myself. I think I deserve it. She is precious to me."
Thanking the jury, the chairman of the Kerala State Chalachithra Academy and Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan, Revathi ended her sweet speech to thunderous applause.
"I want to dedicate this award to my myself. I think I deserve it." - Revathi said after receiving the honour for the Best Actress at this year's Kerala State Film Awards. ❤ pic.twitter.com/e5KtsyTd5y
— veee (@sonder_being) September 25, 2022