Hours after a group of filmmakers announced their decision to return their awards, actor and former chairman of Central Board of Film Certification, Anupam Kher on Wednesday slammed the filmmakers for their decision, reports India Today.


Kher said the filmmakers have insulted the Censor Board jury and the audience who watched their films by returning the awards.


In a series of tweets, the 60-year-old actor said some of these filmmakers are anti-Modi and never wanted Narendra Modi to become the prime minister.


The row over the appointment of Gajendra Chauhan as the chairman of the Film and Television Institute of India (FTII) turned on its head with 10 filmmakers, including senior documentary filmmaker Anand Patwardhan and Bollywood new wave director Dibakar Banerjee, announcing their decision to return national awards.


The decision came on a day when the protesting students threw in the towel and offered to attend classes but under protest.


The list of filmmakers who have announced their decision barring Patwardhan and Banerjee are Paresh Kamdar, Nishtha Jain, Kirti Nakhwa, Harshvardhan Kulkarni, Hari Nair, Rakesh Sharma, Indraneel Lahiri and Lipika Singh.


Speaking to the media, Banerjee said, "I am not here out of anger, outrage. Those emotions have long been exhausted. I am here to draw attention. Returning my very first National Award which I received for 'Khosla Ka Ghosla' is not easy. It was my first film and for many my most loved," Banerjee told a press conference in New Delhi.


If there is intolerance of debate, of questioning and usually intolerance of a student body wanting to have a better teaching environment and that intolerance manifests in apathy, then that is what we are protesting against," he said. "I don't think any government will have the sense of fantasy to call us anti-national," he added.


Noted documentary maker Patwardhan said the government has encouraged "extreme right wings". "I haven't seen so many incidents happen at the same time. This is a sign of what is beginning to happen and I think that is why people are responding all over the country in different ways," he said, referring to the instances of writers returning their Akademi awards.


However, FTII chairman Chauhan appealed filmmakers not to return their awards.The filmmakers, who were addressing a press conference in Mumbai, also condemned the murders of rationalists including that of MM Kalburgi and Govind Pansare.


This is what Kher tweeted last night:

Some of these usual suspects of #AwardWapsiGang were instrumental in getting me out of Censor Board d moment Congress came in Power. #Agenda @AnupamPkher


Some more usual suspects who never wanted @narendramodi to become PM in d first place have joined the #AwardWapsi gang. Jai Ho.:)


U shud name me. I wont feel bad. I respect people who gave me awards. My protest is not based on hidden agendas.:)