President Droupadi Murmu on Friday, September 30, honoured winners of the 68th National Film Awards, including actors Suriya and Jyotika who also produced the film Soorarai Pottru, and folk singer Nanchamma. The President also conferred Hindi cinema veteran Asha Parekh with the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award. The National Film awards were announced in July honouring the best in cinema in 2020. At the ceremony held at Vigyan Bhawan in Delhi, Murmu said, "Cinema is not only an industry, it is also a medium of artistic expression of our culture and values of life. It is also a medium for connecting our society and nation-building."
The event was attended by the winners including Asha Parekh and Ajay Devgn, who along with Suriya, was given the best actor honour for Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior. Suriya was awarded for his performance in Soorarai Pottru, the biggest winner of the National Film Awards this year. After receiving the award, Suriya called the win "special". "This honour means a lot... It's very special and I'm happy that I got it for Soorarai Pottru," the actor told PTI.
Suriya and his wife, actor Jyotika, have produced the Sudha Kongara-directed film. Soorarai Pottru also won best feature, best actress for Aparna Balamurali, best screenplay for Shalini Usha Nair and Sudha Kongara, as well as best music direction (background score) for GV Prakash Kumar. The film is inspired by the life of Air Deccan founder Capt G R Gopinath. Aparna said she derives inspiration from her win.
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"I feel great. Words won't be enough to express my feelings and what I'm going through today. Thanks to my director for having trust in me and she is the one who pushed me. I definitely want to take this forward in my career as an inspiration and encouragement. This really has given me a push to better my career and do better characters," Aparna told PTI.
The late Malayalam filmmaker Sachidanandan KR was posthumously awarded best director for Ayyappanum Koshiyum. His wife Siji Sachy received the award. The film also took home best supporting actor for Biju Menon, best action direction (stunt choreography) and best playback female singer for Nanchamma, a tribal folk singer, who received a standing ovation as she came on the stage to receive her award from the president.
Tamil artiste Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli was named the best supporting actress for her performance in the Tamil movie Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum, which received the best editing award for Sreekar Prasad as well.
In the music category, Thaman S received the best music direction (songs) for Allu Arjun's Telugu hit Ala Vaikunthapurramuloo, while Manoj Muntashir was awarded best lyrics for the Hindi film Saina. Telugu movie Natyam won awards for best make-up artist (TV Rambabu) and best choreography (Sandhya Raju).
Filmmaker Madonne Ashwin won the Indira Gandhi award for best debut film of a director for his Tamil venture Mandela. He also won another award -- the Best Dialogue writer. The best Telugu film award was bagged by Colour Photo, while Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum won the best Tamil film. Thinkalazhcha Nishchayam was declared the best Malayalam film and Dollu took home the best Kannada Film award.
Asha Parekh said she is grateful to receive the prestigious award a day before her 80th birthday. "It is a huge honour to have received the Dada Saheb Phalke award. It makes me very grateful that the recognition comes to me just one day before my 80th birthday … This is the best honour I could get from the Government of India. I would like to thank the jury for the recognition that they have bestowed upon me, my long journey and fulfilling the journey in the film industry," said the cinema legend.
Asha Parekh's stardom was on a par with her male contemporaries Rajesh Khanna, Rajendra Kumar, Dharmendra and Manoj Kumar in the 1960s-1970s. In a career spanning over five decades, she starred in over 95 films that include titles such as Dil Deke Dekho, Kati Patang, Teesri Manzil, Baharon Ke Sapne, Pyar Ka Mausam, and Caravan.
Ajay Devgn said he shared his win with all his fans. This was his third best actor National Award after Zakhm (1998) and The Legend of Bhagat Singh (2002). Tanhaji bagged the two other awards — best popular film providing wholesome entertainment and best costume design for Nachiket Barve and Mahesh Sherla. Set in the 17th century, Tanhaji is based on the life of Tanaji Malusare, the military leader of Maratha king Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj's army.
The award for best playback singer male was given to Rahul Deshpande for Marathi film Mi Vasantrao. The best Hindi film prize went to Toolsidas Junior, directed by Mridul Toolsidas. The Ashutosh Gowariker production, which was the last film appearance of late actor Rajiv Kapoor, also received a special jury mention for child actor Varun Buddhadev.
Marathi movie Sumi won the best Children's film award and its actors Akanksha Pingle and Divyesh Indulkar shared the best child artist honour with Anish Mangesh Gosavi of Tak-Tak. Director-composer Vishal Bhardwaj won the best music direction award for the track ‘Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar’ from filmmaker Vinod Kapri's 1232 kms, a documentary about the migrant workers' exodus during the lockdown. The prize for the most film-friendly state went to Madhya Pradesh, with special mention for Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh.
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