The 69th National Film Awards took place on Tuesday at Delhi’s Vigyan Bhavan. The winners received the prestigious award from President Droupadi Murmu.
Ahead of the announcement, the Chairperson and other Jury members called on the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting Anurag Thakur, and presented him with the selections for the Awards. The Minister thanked the Jury for diligently going through the entries and selecting the best for the awards.
LIVE: Ceremony of 69th #NationalFilmAwards @PIB_India @nfdcindia https://t.co/BL81fyRUsB
— Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (@MIB_India) October 17, 2023
During the interaction, the Minister said, “It was a very tough competition between all the films in every category. My congratulations and best wishes are with the winners. Today India is the largest filmmaker in the world. We have the potential to become the content hub of the world. This is our time. Today our films are being recognized all over the world, be it BAFTA or the Oscars.”
The Jury comprised eminent filmmakers and film personalities from across the Indian cine world. The awards were announced by Sh. Ketan Mehta, Chairperson, Feature Films Jury, Sh. Vasanth S Sai, Chairperson, Non-feature Films Jury, Sh. Yatindra Mishra, Best Writing on Cinema Jury in presence of Ms. Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting
The Best Feature Film award has been given to Rocketry: The Nambi Effect and the Best Non-Feature Film has been bagged by Ek Tha Gaon directed by Srishti Lakhera.
The Kashmir Files has been awarded with Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration, while RRR has bagged the Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment.
Allu Arjun has won the award for Best Actor for his stellar performance in the movie Pushpa (The Rise Part I) while Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon have become joint winners of the Best Actress Award for Gangubai Kathiawadi and Mimi respectively.
The National Awards are running a year behind schedule because of pandemic-related delays.
Shoojit Sircar’s historical drama Sardar Udham also won several awards. Apart from being named the Best Hindi Film, it also bagged Best Cinematography (Avik Mukhopadhyay), Best Audiography (Sinoy Joseph), Best Production Design (Dmitrii Malich and Mansi Dhruv Mehta) and Best Costume Design (Veera Kapur Ee) awards.
Veteran actor Waheeda Rehman will also be receiving the Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur announced the award In September.
He posted, “At a time when the historic Nari Shakti Vandan Adhiniyam has been passed by Parliament, her (Rehman) being awarded this lifetime achievement award is a fitting tribute to one of the leading ladies of Indian cinema…”
