Assam: Cheques Given to Assam State Film Awards Winners Bounce

Assam: Cheques Given to Assam State Film Awards Winners Bounce

A number of cheques presented to prominent winners bounced when presented at the concerned bank.

GUWAHATI: In a gaffe leading to some red faces in the Assam government, cheques given to several winners of Assam State Film awards have bounced.

The State Film awards were conferred on Monday. On Friday, nine cheques presented to eight winners were returned by the bank when the winners went to cash them.

The state film awards ceremony is organised by the Assam State Film Finance & Development Corporation (ASFFDC). The cheques are signed by the Director of Cultural Affairs.

"I deposited the cheque on Friday and got a call from the bank that it got bounced. Immediately I called the organisers, who said that there was insufficient balance," Aparajita Pujari told media persons.

Pujari had won the award for Best Writing in Cinema for 2018.

Sources revealed that cheques handed over to other prominent film personalities like Amrit Pritam (Sound Design), Debajit Changmai (Sound Mixing), Pranjal Deka (Direction), Debajit Gayan (Sound Design and Mixing) and Benjamin Daimary (Acting) also bounced at the bank.

Following the debacle, Cultural Affairs Minister Bimal Borah asked his officials to conduct an enquiry immediately.

The organisers called Pujari on Saturday and asked her to deposit the cheque again. "They have said it will be cleared this time," she said.

"The cheques got bounced due to a technical reason. Cheques worth Rs 18 lakh were cleared on the first day, but nine cheques of eight persons bounced on the second day," an official of ASFFDC said.

The problem has been rectified and all the eight people have been individually informed on Saturday to deposit their cheques, he added.

Controversy erupted at the Awards after it came to light that Nahid Afrin, who was conferred the best female playback singer award, was given the recognition for a song she had not sung.

Afrin was a playback singer in the film 'Nijaanor Gaan' for which the award was given, but not for the song that was displayed on the stage when she collected the award.

The Cultural Affairs minister later clarified that Afrin was the genuine winner and the lyrics were wrongly displayed, terming it as 'human error'. Many people has taken to social media and lambasted Afrin for collecting the award.

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