National Film Awards: Malayalam movie 'Aattam' best feature film, Rishabh Shetty best actor for 'Kantara'
Sooraj R Barjatya named best director for Hindi movie 'Uunchai'; best actress award shared by Nithya Menen for Tamil film 'Thiruchitrambalam', and Manasi Parekh for Gujarati film 'Kutch Express'
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.