Actor and director Balachandra Menon claimed on November 29 that he missed out on winning the best feature film and best director awards at the 45th National Film Awards in 1997 because of foul play within the jury, which included a Keralite. Speaking to the media after completing 50 years in the entertainment industry, Menon recalled the incident as one he has not forgotten. To back his claim, Menon showed a video clip where a jury member said that after watching all entries, the jury was nearly certain to award Menon's film Samaantharangal as best feature film and give him the best director and best actor awards. However, something wrongful happened that shocked the jury member. Menon said that jury member Devendra Khandelwal revealed this to him during his visit to New Delhi to accept the award. "He wanted to unburden himself," Menon stated. In the final results, Samaantharangal won only the 'Best Film on Family Welfare' award, and Menon shared the best actor award with Suresh Gopi. Reflecting on his career, Menon described his experiences as a mix of bitter and sweet but noted that the bitter moments outnumber the sweet ones. "I have many grievances. I have been harmed by many and still continue to do so," he said. Menon also shared anecdotes covering a range of topics, including seeing actor Prem Nazir as a school student and the origins of his film titles. On politics, he revealed that Congress leader K. Karunakaran encouraged him to enter politics and contest from Thiruvananthapuram, but he respectfully declined. He added that he later refused other Congress invitations for the sake of peace of mind and keeping his conscience clear.