Prominent film actor Ilias Kanchan has stepped down from the reconstituted jury board of the National Film Awards 2023. The actor confirmed the matter to the media on Monday.

Ilias Kanchan said, “Many films are submitted to the National Film Awards Jury Board. Judging a lot of films during this short period is difficult. Currently, I’m busy with various works. So I have decided to resign from this post. I feel it is good to give others a chance instead of being in a position.”

Earlier, on 15 September, the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting issued a gazette to announce the new set of jury board members of the National Film Awards-2023. The reconstituted jury board consists of 13 members and is chaired by the additional secretary (Film) of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting. Besides, the Director General of the Bangladesh Film Archive and the head of the film division of the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting are also part of the board.

The other members of the jury board are actor Ilias Kanchan, director Zahidur Rahim Anjan, music director Prince Mahmud, cinematographer Barkat Hossain Polash, actress Aupee Karim, and singer Nazmun Munira Nancy, the chair of the Department of Television, Film, and Photography at Dhaka University S M Imran Hossain, and journalist Wahid Sujan.

According to the gazette, the reconstituted jury board will observe films released in 2023 and recommend names of films, artistes, and crew members for the National Film Awards.