National Film Awards: Malayalam movie 'Aattam' best feature film, Rishabh Shetty best actor for 'Kantara'

Malayalam film 'Aattam: The Play' won the award for best feature film and Sooraj R Barjatya was judged best director for the Hindi movie "Uunchai", as the government announced the 70th National Film Awards on Friday.

Malayalam cinema won big in the National Awards as debut director Anand Ekarshi’s 'Aattam', a searing portrait on social injustice, bagged the best feature film. It also got the national award for best screenplay. While 'Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009' was judged as the best Malayalam film.

Honouring the best films and cinematic achievements of the year 2022, the awards were declared by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B) today.

Best actress, best actor

The best actress award was shared by Nithya Menen, who received it for the Tamil film 'Thiruchitrambalam', and Manasi Parekh for the Gujarati movie "Kutch Express". The award for best actor went to Rishabh Shetty for the Kannada hit "Kantara".

Neena Gupta was best supporting actress for 'Uunchai' and Pawan Malhotra best supporting actor for the Haryanvi film "Fouja".

Gulmohar wins best Hindi film

Sharmila Tagore and Manoj Bajpayee starrer "Gulmohar" won the award for best Hindi film. Bajpayee also got a special mention, and so did Sanjoy Salil Chowdhury for 'Kalikhan'.

A R Rahman won the National Film Award as best music director (background music) for his work in Mani Ratnam's "Ponnyin Selvan-Part 1", which was also named the best Tamil film. Pritam got the award for best music director (songs) for "Brahmastra-Part 1".

The awards were announced by feature film jury head Rahul Rawail. The other members of the jury were Nila Madhab Panda, Chairperson of the Non-Feature Film Jury; and Gangadhar Mudalair, Chairperson of the Best Writing on Cinema Jury.

The List:

Best Feature Film – Aattam

Best Actor – Rishab Shetty, Kantara

Best Actress – Nithya Menen in Tiruchitrabalam, and Manasi Parekh in Kutch Express

Best Director – Sooraj Barjatya, Uunchai

Best Supporting Actress – Neena Gupta, Uunchai

Best Supporting Actor – Pawan Malhotra, Fouji

Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment – Kantara

Best Debut – Fouja, Pramod Kumar

Best Telugu Film – Karthikeya 2

Best Tamil Film – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1

Best Punjabi Film – Baaghi Di Dhee

Best Odia Film – Daman

Best Malayalam Film – Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009

Best Marathi Film – Vaalvi

Best Kannada Film – KGF: Chapter 2

Best Hindi Film – Gulmohar

Best Tiwa Film – Sikaisal

Best Bengali Film – Kaberi Antardhan

Best Assamese Film – Emuthi Puthi

Best Action Direction – KGF: Chapter 2

Best Choreography – Tiruchitrabalam

Best Lyrics – Fouja

Best Music Director – Pritam (Songs), AR Rahman (Background Score)

Best Makeup – Aparajito

Best Costumes – Kutch Express

Best Production Design – Aparajito

Best Editing – Aattam

Best Sound Design – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1

Best Screenplay – Aattam

Best Dialogues – Gulmohar

Best Cinematography – Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1

Best Female Playback – Saudi Velakka CC.225/2009, Bombay Jayashri

Best Female Playback – Brahmastra, Arijit Singh

Best Child Artist – Sreepath in Mallikappuram

Best Film in AVGC – Brahmastra

Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values – Kutch Express

Best Critic – Deepak Dua

Best Book on Cinema – Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography

The award ceremonies have been delayed by two years because of the COVID-19 pandemic, so the 70th National Awards are being given for the films which hit the screens in 2022.

Established in 1954, the National Film Awards are overseen by the Directorate of Film Festivals. In the history of the awards, the most awarded film remains Ashutosh Gowariker’s 'Lagaan', which received eight honours in 2002. The event also picks best films across regional languages, and presents industry legends with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement. Last year, the award was given to actor Waheeda Rehman.