Ajay Devgn and Suriya share Best Actor at India’s 68th National Film Awards, Aparna Balamurali wins Best Actress while Soorarai Pottru adjudged Best Film

The winners of India’s 68th National Film Awards were announced on July 22, 2022, in New Delhi. Established in 1954, the prestigious National Film Awards are administered by the Government of India’s Directorate of Film Festivals.

What made the 68th National Film Awards special was the fact that the ceremony also honoured the films from 2020 also because of Covid-19-related issues.

Actors Ajay Devgn and Suriya shared the best actor award while Aparna Balamurali won the best actress award. While Suriya and Aparna Balamurali won it for their highly acclaimed film Soorarai Pottru (2021), Ajay Devgn won the same for his 2020 blockbuster Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior.

Tanhaji, directed by Om Raut, is based on the life of Tanaji Malusare, warrior and commander of Chhatrapati Shivaji. Soorarai Pottru, on the other hand, is a dramatized portrayal of retired Army Captain GR Gopinath's life as the founder of the low-cost airline Air Deccan. The film had a direct-to-digital premiere on Amazon Prime Video and turned out to be a massive success.

Madhya Pradesh bagged the award for Most Film-Friendly State at the National Film Awards.

Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh bagged Most Film-Friendly (Special mention) Award.

"Most film-friendly (special mention) award goes to Uttarakhand and UP. Most film-friendly film state goes to Madhya Pradesh," Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.

Madhya Pradesh has received the award earlier also.

A 10-member jury led by director-producer Vipul Shah met Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday morning to submit its report on the 68th National Film Awards.

This year, there are 50 categories with over 300 feature films and 150 non-feature films competing for the prizes. There are 30 different languages in the movies.

Apart from chairperson Shah, the jury members included cinematographer Dharam Gulati, National award-winning fame Bengali actor Sreelekha Mukherjee, cinematographer GS Bhaskar, A Karthikraaja, VN Aditya, Viji Thampi, Sanjeev Rattan, S Thangadurai and Nishigandha.

Producer-director Vipul Shah told a news agency, "It has been heartening to see the kind of response that was received and the number of films that we got to see. And these were very difficult Covid-19 times during which these films were either made or being made."

Chitrartha Singh who headed the non-feature jury stated, "We have been able to review close to 140 non-feature films including documentaries and it is amazing to see the kind of content that has come forth, especially from areas like the north-east.”

Here is the full list of winners:

Best Feature Film: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Producer: 2D Entertainment Pvt.Ltd; Director: Sudha Kongara

Best Actor: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Actor: Suriya & Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Hindi); Actor: Ajay Devgn

Best Actress: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Actress: Aparrna Balamurali

Best Direction: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Director: Sachidanandan KR

Best Supporting Actor: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Supporting Actor: Biju Menon

Best Supporting Actress: Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum (Tamil); Supporting Actress: Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli

Best Children’s Film: Sumi (Marathi); Producer: Harshall Kamat Entertainment; Director: Amol Vasant Gole

Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Taledanda (Beheading a Life )(Kannada) Producer: Krupanidhi Kreations; Director: Praveen Krupakar

Best Film on Social Issues (Themes such as prohibition,women and child empowerment,social evils like dowry, drug abuse, empowerment of differently-abled people, tribal and indigeneous people etc.): Funeral (Marathi); Producer: Before After Entertainment; Director: Vivek Dubey

Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Hindi); Producer: Ajay Devgn FFilms; Director:  Om Raut

Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: Mandela (Tamil); Producer: YNOT Studios; Director:  Madonne Ashwin

Best Screenplay: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil) Screenplay writer (original): Shalini Usha Nair & Sudha Kongara Mandela (Tamil); Dialogue Writer: Madonne Ashwin

Best Cinematography:  Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) (Bengali); Cameraman: Supratim Bhol

Best Female Playback Singer: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Singer: Nanchamma

Best Male Playback Singer: Mi Vasantrao (I Am Vasantrao) (Marathi); Singer: Rahul Deshpande

Best Child Artist: Tak-Tak (Marathi); Child Artist: Anish Mangesh Gosavi; Sumi (Marathi); Child Artist: Akanksha Pingle & Divyesh Indulkar

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