Veteran
director
Hariharan
bagged
the
JC
Daniel
Award
2019,
the
Kerala
state
government's
highest
honour
for
the
contributions
to
the
Malayalam
film
industry.
Hariharan
was
chosen
for
the
prestigious
award
by
a
jury
headed
by
the
legendary
writer
MT
Vasudevan
Nair.
The
JC
Daniel
Award
carries
a
purse
of
Rs.
5
Lakhs,
a
citation,
and
a
memento.
MT
Vasudevan
Nair
was
the
chairman
of
the
JC
Daniel
Award
jury
of
2019,
which
also
included
director
Harikumar,
senior
actress
Vidhubala,
Kerala
State
Chalachitra
Academy
chairman
Kamal,
and
the
secretary
of
the
Cultural
Department,
Rani
George
IAS.
During
the
award
announcement,
the
jury
stated
that
Hariharan
traveled
hand-in-hand
with
the
Malayalam
cinema
through
all
the
transformations,
with
his
5-decades-long
career.
The
filmmaker,
on
the
other
hand,
stated
that
he
feels
extremely
honoured
to
be
receiving
the
Kerala
Government's
highest
honour
for
the
members
of
the
Malayalam
film
industry.
Hariharan
also
remarked
that
he
feels
extremely
fortunate
to
receive
the
love
and
appreciation
of
the
audiences,
throughout
his
journey
in
cinema.
Hariharan,
who
entered
Malayalam
cinema
as
the
assistant
director
of
late
filmmaker
M
Krishnan
Nair
in
1965,
has
been
considered
one
of
the
finest
filmmakers
of
the
industry.
The
director
made
his
debut
as
an
independent
filmmaker
is
Ladies
Hostel,
the
Prem
Nazir
starrer
released
in
1973.
He
directed
the
Jayan
starrer
Sarapanjaram,
one
of
the
biggest
blockbusters
Malayalam
cinema
has
ever
seen,
in
1979.
The
director
later
established
a
great
professional
rapport
with
MT
Vasudevan
Nair
by
collaboration
with
the
writer
for
some
of
the
most
acclaimed
films
in
their
careers.
He
also
directed
the
then
superstars
Mammootty
and
Mohanlal
in
some
of
their
milestone
films
including
Oru
Vadakkan
Veeragatha,
Panchagni,
Amrutham
Gamaya,
Kerala
Varma
Pazhassi
Raja,
and
so
on.