Chennai: The Cinema Journalists Association on Sunday conferred the film critics’ Best Director award on director Ameer for his film ‘Paruthiveeran.’

Veteran director K. Balachander presenting the award, encouraged directors to dare to make several kinds of films.

“I used to take risks because my friends stood by me. Would I take the risks today? I may not because as we grow experienced, we become fearful ... But young directors should be adventurous,” he said.

He recalled his experience watching ‘Paruthiveeran’ with a preconceived notion that he was not going to like the film. “I soon became engrossed in it and was in tears at the end,” he added. He also praised writer-director Venkat Prabhu for his film ‘Saroja’ and the gentle humour in it.

Accepting the award, director Ameer said that most awards are given based on the popularity of actors. “I enjoy Rajinikanth movies but giving him a ‘Best Actor’ award just because he is popular is unacceptable to me,” he said.

He said he was glad that the film critics’ awards were not based on popularity but on the substance of the film.

The other awards were: Best film – ‘Paruthiveeran;’ Best actor – Sathyaraj (‘Periyar,’ ‘Onbathu Rubai Notu’); Best writer – Ram (‘Katradhu Thamizh’); Best screenplay – Venkatprabhu (‘Chennai – 600028’); Best dialogue – Viji (‘Mozhi’); Best sound recording – Kadhir (‘Katradhu Thamizh’); Best music director – Yuvan Shankar Raja (several songs) and Best lyricist – N. Muthukumar (several songs).