POCSO-accused choreographer Jani Master's National Award revoked

The National Film Awards Cell announced late Saturday (October 5) that it is suspending the National Award for Best Choreography for 2022 for Shaik Jani Basha, popularly known as Jani Master.

A recent decision to grant interim bail to Jani Master to receive the award, which he'd bagged for the Tamil film Thiruchitrambalam, had sparked a lot of public anger. There had been calls for the cancellation of his National Award.

Jani Master was arrested after a 21-year-old woman accused him of sexually assaulting her over several years, from when she was a minor. He faces charges under the POSCO Act.