Report by Aryaa Sinha
The 68th National Film Awards were announced yesterday.
Recently National Film Awards were announced at New Delhi to honour the best films of Indian cinema.
The event was organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (MIB).
This year’s Awards honoured films from 2020 as well.
Soorarai Pottru (Tamil) bagged the maximum number of awards.
The best actor award was shared by Ajay Devgn (for Tanhaji) and Suriya (for Soorarai Pottru).
The best actress award was given to Aparna Balamurali (for Soorarai Pottru).
What are the National Film Awards?
Established in 1954, National Film Awards are the most prominent film award ceremony in India.
Nargis Dutt and Uttam Kumar were the first to get the Best Actress and Best Actor awards respectively.
Every year, a national panel appointed by the government selects the winning entry, and the award ceremony is held at Vigyan Bhavan in New Delhi, where the President of India presents the awards.
This is followed by the inauguration of the National Film Festival, where the award-winning films are screened for the public.
About The Awards
This year over 300 feature films and 150 non feature films from 50 categories for over 30 languages were competing for the prizes.
There are 3 sections of the Awards – Feature, Non-Feature, and Best Writing on Cinema.
The winners of the Feature Film awards were selected by a jury of 15 members. These Awards include Golden Lotus Awards (Best Film, Best Direction, Best Popular Film, and Best Children’s Film) and Silver Lotus Awards (Best Actor, Actress, Supporting Actors etc.).
The winners of Non Feature Film awards are selected by the jury of 5 members which includes Best Film Critic, Dada Saheb Phalke Lifetime Achievement Award, Special Jury Awards etc.
Highlights of the 68th National Film Awards
Madhya Pradesh wins the Most Film Friendly State award while Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh get special mention.
The Longest Kiss’ by Kishwar Desai wins Best Book on Cinema for the year.
Malayalam book ‘MT Anunahvangalude Pusthakam’ and Odia book ‘Kali Paine Kalira Cinema’ win special mention.
Awards Given For Feature Film Category
· Best Hindi Film: Toolsidas Junior
· Best Malayalam Film: Thinkalazcha Nishchayam
· Best Telugu Film: Colour Photo
· Best Bengali Film: Avijatrik
· Best Assamese Film: Bridge
· Best Tulu Film: Jeetige
· Best Tamil Film: Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum
· Best Marathi Film: Gostha Eka Paithanichi
· Best Kannada Film: Dollu
· Best Dimasa Film: Semkhor
· Best Haryanvi Film: Dada Lakhmi
Awards Given for Non – Feature Film
· Best Film on Family Values: Kumkumarchan, Abhijeet Arvind Dalvi
· Best Direction: Oh That’s Bhanu, RV Ramani
· Best Music Direction: 1232 kms – Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar, Vishal Bhardwaj
· Best Cinematography: Sabdikunna Kalappa, Nikhil S Praveen
· Best Audiography: Pearl of the Desert, Ajit Singh Rathore
· Best Editing: Borderlands, Anadi Athaley
· Best Narration Voiceover: Rhapsody of Rains – Monsoons of Kerala, Shobha Tharoor Srinivasan
· Best On-Location Sound: Jadui Jangal, Sandeep Bhati, and Pradeep Lekhwar
· Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation
· Best Book on Cinema: The Longest Kiss by Kishwar Desai
· Best Book on Cinema (Special Mention): MT Anunahvangalude Pusthakam, Anoop Ramakrishnan, and Kali Paine Kalira Cinema by Surya Deo
· Best Film Critic: No winner this year.
· Most Film Friendly State: Madhya Pradesh
Jury Award
· Best Feature Film in Hindi: Toolsidas Junior
· Best Feature Film in Kannada: Dollu
· Best Feature Film in Malayalam: Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam
· Best Feature Film in Tamil: Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum
· Best Feature Film in Telugu: Colour Photo
· Best Feature Film in Haryanvi: Dada Lakhmi
· Best Feature Film in Dimasa: Samkhor
· Best Feature Film in Tulu: Jeetige