Ministry suspends Jani Master’s National Award due to sexual assault allegations

Choreographer Jani Master’s recent National Award win has been revoked by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. This decision comes after he was accused of serious sexual assault allegations and spent time in prison. He had received the National Award for Best Choreography for the song ‘Megham Karukkatha’ from the film Thiruchitrambalam and shared the honor with fellow choreographer Sathish Krishnan.

On Friday, the National Film Awards Cell released a statement announcing the suspension of the Jani Master Prize. The letter signed by associate director Indrani Bose said, “In view of the seriousness of the allegation and the judicial matter, the appropriate authority has decided to suspend the National Film Award for Best Choreography for the year 2022 to Shri Shaik.” Jani Basha for the Film Thiruchitrambalam until further orders.”

The ministry has also withdrawn Jani Master’s invitation to the National Film Awards ceremony scheduled for October 8 in New Delhi. He was only granted provisional bail earlier this week, allowing him to attend the event.