Vice president M. Venkaiah Naidu on 25th October conferred the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award on Rajinikanth. The Tamil film superstar thanked his mentor, late filmmaker K. Balachander, his brother, Sathyanarayana Rao, and his “friend, driver and transport colleague, Raj Bahadur”, who spotted his acting talent when he was a bus conductor.
On the same occasion, various other celebrities were honoured with the National Film Awards.
The 67th National Film Awards for 2019 had been announced in March this year. They were delayed due to the Coronavirus pandemic. The function was held after a two-year delay.
Priyadarshan’s Malayalam film Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham was awarded the best feature film. Said Nadiadwala’s Chhichhore, directed by Nitesh Tiwari, was given the award for the best Hindi film. Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan bagged the award for the best director for his Hindi film Bahattar Hoorain. Dhanush and Manoj Bajpayee shared the best actor award for Tamil film Asuran and Hindi film Bhonsle respectively. Kangana Ranaut won the best actress award for Manikarnika: The Queen Of Jhansi and Panga (released in 2020). The best supporting actor and best supporting actress awards were given to Vijay Sethupathi and Pallavi Joshi for their performances in Super Deluxe (Tamil) and The Tashkent Files (Hindi).
While singer B. Praak got the award for the best male playback singer for the Teri mitti song from Hindi filmKesari, Savani Ravindra bagged the award for the best female singer for Rann petala from Marathi film Bardo. Tamil film Viswasam got the award for the best music (songs) while Kolaambi (Malayalam) bagged the award for the best lyrics.
The Nargis Dutt Award for the best feature film on national integration was given to Tajmahal (Marathi) while the award for the best film on social issues went to Anandi Gopal (Marathi). The Indira Gandhi Award for the best debut film of a director was given to Mathukutty Xavier for Helen (Malayalam).
The award for the best stunts went to Avane Srimannarayana (Kannada). Maharshi (Telugu) won the award for the best choreography. Malayalam film Marakkar Arabikadalinte Simham bagged the award for the best special effects. Naga Vishal won the award for the best child actor for Tamil film Kruppu Durai. Oththa Seruppu Size-7 (Tamil) bagged a special jury award.
The awards for the best films in the various languages were bagged by:
Tulu film: Pingara. Paniya film: Kenjira. Mishing film: Anu Ruwad. Khasi film: Iewduh (which also bagged the award for the best outdoor sound recording). Haryanvi film: Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Nahi Hoti. Chhattisgarhi film: Bhulan The Maze. Telugu film: Jersey. Tamil film: Asuran. Punjabi film: Rab Da Radio 2. Odiya films: Sala Budhar Badla and Kalira Atita. Manipuri film: Eigi Kona. Malayalam film: Kalla Nottam. Marathi film: Bardo. Konkani film: Kaajro. Kannada film: Akshi. Hindi film: Chhichhore.
A special mention was made of the following films: Biryani (Malayalam), Jonaki Porua (Assamese), Lata Bhagwan Kare (Marathi) and Picasso (Marathi).
The award for the most film-friendly state was given to Sikkim. Sanjay Suri’s book, A Gandhian Affair: India’s Curious Portrayal Of Love In Cinema, was named the best book on cinema.