Thilakan to be honoured with Bharat Gopi Award

Thilakan, the veteran actor of Malayalam cinema and theater, has been chosen for the Bharat Gopi Award 2010 to be given by the Manavaseva Welfare Society. On Tuesday, while addressing a press conference in Thiruvananthapuram, society president Poykamukku Hari announced that the actor has been chosen for the award for his contribution to Malayalam films. Uthradam Tirunal Marthanda Varma, chief of the ruling family of erstwhile Travancore, will present the award to Thilakan at a function at Attingal on Saturday. Recently, there were a lot of controversies about the expulsion of the actor from the Association of Malayalam Movie Artistes (AMMA). His removal from AMMA, has another controversial background. The actor was reportedly excluded from the movie Christian Brothers by the producer in February 2010. It is said that the Film Employees Federation of Kerala (FEFKA) directed the producer to do so. His acting in a film of the director Vinayan, led to his expulsion from the film. It is because Vinayan was the head of the rival association named Malayalam Cine Technicians Association (MACTA).