The Malayalam period drama Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham won top honours at the 67th National Film Awards announced in Delhi on Monday. Priyadarshan’s action adventure, which stars Mohanlal as the legendary seafarer who led his navy against the invading Portuguese, was named Best Feature Film.
Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham also picked up awards in two other categories. The movie is scheduled to be released on May 13.
Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan was named Best Director for Bahattar Hoorain, which looks at Islamist fundamentalism. Kangana Ranaut was named Best Actress for both Panga and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi. The Best Actor award was shared by Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle and Dhanush for Asuran.
The awards were given to films across Indian languages completed in 2019. The event was supposed to have been held in May 2020, but was delayed because of the Covid-19 pandemic. The winners were picked by juries selected by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Among the films that won awards in more than one category were Vivek Agnihotri’s The Tashkent Files, Gowtam Tinnanuri’s Jersey, Sameer Vidhwans’s Anandi Gopal, Mathukutty Xavier’s Helen, Kaushik Ganguly’s Jyeshthoputro, Srijit Mukerji’s Gumnaami, and the documentary Wild Karnataka.
Here is the complete list of winners.
Feature Film Categories
Best Feature Film
Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Malayalam), Priyadarshan.
Special mentions: Sajin Babu’s Biriyaani (Malayalam), Prakash Deka’s Jonaki Porua (Assamese), Naveen Deshaboina’s Lata Bhagwan Kare (Marathi) and Abhijeet Mohan Warang’s Picasso (Marathi).
Best Director
Sanjay Puran Singh Chauhan, Bahattar Hoorain (Hindi).
Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration
Taj Mahal, Niyaz Mujawar.
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment
Maharshi, Vamshi Paidipally.
Best Film on Social Issues
Anandi Gopal, Sameer Vidhwans.
Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of Director
Helen (Malayalam), Mathukutty Xavier.
Best Actress
Kangana Ranaut for Panga and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi (both Hindi).
Best Actor
Shared between Manoj Bajpayee for Bhonsle (Hindi) and Dhanush for Asuran (Tamil).
Best Supporting Actress
Pallavi Joshi, The Tashkent Files (Hindi).
Best Supporting Actor
Vijay Sethupathi, Super Deluxe (Tamil).
Best Original Screenplay
Kaushik Ganguly, Jyeshthoputro (Bengali).
Best Adapted Screenplay
Srijit Mukerji, Gumnaami (Bengali)
Best Dialogue Writer
Vivek Agnihotri, The Tashkent Files (Hindi).
Best Cinematography
Girish Gangadharan, Jallikattu (Malayalam).
Best Editing
Navin Nooli, Jersey (Telugu).
Best Production Design
Sunil Nigvekar and Nilesh Wagh, Anandi Gopal (Marathi).
Best Costume Designer
Sujit Sudhakaran and V Sai, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Malayalam).
Best Special Effects
Siddharth Priyadarshan, Marakkar: Arabikadalinte Simham (Malayalam).
Best Action Direction
Vikram Mor, Avane Srimannarayana (Kannada).
Best Make-up
Ranjith Ambady, Helen (Malayalam).
Best Choreography
Raju Sundaram, Maharshi (Telugu).
Best Audiography (Location Sound)
Debajit Gayan, Iewduh (Khasi).
Best Audiography (Re-recordist of FInal Mixed Track)
Resul Pookutty, Oththa Seruppu Size 7 (Tamil).
Best Music Direction: Songs
D Imman, Viswasam (Tamil).
Best Music Direction: Background Score
Prabuddha Banerjee, Jyeshthoputro (Bengali).
Best Lyrics
Prabha Varma, Aarodum Parayuka, Kolaambi (Malayalam).
Best Female Playback Singer
Savani Ravindra, song Raan Petla from Bardo (Marathi),
Best Male Playback Singer
B Praak, Teri Mitti from Kesari (Hindi).
Best Child Artist
Naga Vishal, KD (Tamil).
Best Malayalam Film
Kalla Nottam, Rahul Riji Nair.
Best Tamil Film
Asuran, Vetri Maaran.
Best Telugu Film
Jersey, Gowtam Tinnanuri.
Best Marathi Film
Bardo, Bhimrao Mude.
Best Kannada Film
Akshi, Manoj Kumar.
Best Hindi Film
Chhichhore, Nitish Tiwari.
Best Konkani Film
Kaajro, Nitin Bhaskar.
Best Bengali Film
Gumnaami, Srijit Mukerji.
Best Assamese Film
Ronuwa Who Never Surrender, Chandra Mudoi.
Best Tulu Film
Pingara, Preetham Shetty.
Best Paniya Film
Kenjira, Manoj Kana.
Best Khasi Film
Iewduh, Pradip Kurbah.
Best Mishing Film
Anu Ruwad, Dilip Kumar Dole.
Best Haryanvi Film
Chhoriyan Chhoron Se Kam Nahi Hoti, Rajesh Babbar.
Best Chattisgarhi Film
Bhulan The Maze, Manoj Verma.
Best Punjabi Film
Rab Da Radio 2, Sharan Art.
Best Odia Film
Shared by Sala Budhar Badla by Sabyasachi Mohapatra and Kalira Atita by Nila Madhab Panda.
Best Manipuri Film
Eigi Kona, Bobby Wahengbam and Maipaksana Haorongbam.
Non-Feature Film Categories
Best Non-Feature Film
An Engineered Dream (Hindi), Hemant Gaba.
Best Direction
Knock Knock Knock (English/Bengali), Sudhanshu Saria.
Best Cinematography
Savita Singh, Sonsi (Hindi).
Best Editing
Arjun Gourisaria, Shut Up Sona.
Best Audiography
Allwin Rego and Sanjay Maurya, Radha (Musical).
Best On-Location Sound Recordist
Saptarshi Sarkar, Rahas (Hindi)
Best Short Fiction Film
Custody (Hindi/English), Ambika Pandit.
Best Film on Social Issues
Farha Khatun’s Holy Rights (Hindi) and Sudipta Kundu’s Ladli (Hindi).
Best Environment Film
The Stork Saviours, Ajay Bedi and Vijay Bedi.
Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director
Khisa (Marathi), Raj Pritam More.
Best Art and Culture Film
Shrikshetra-Ru-Sahijata (Odia), Ashutosh Pattnaik.
Best Biographical Film
Elephants Do Remember (English), Swati Pandey, Viplove Rai Bhatia and Manohar Singh Bisht.
Best Ethnographic Film
Charan-Atva (The Essence of Being a Nomad), Gujarati.
Special Jury Award
Small Scale Societies (English).
Best Animation Film
Radha (Musical), Bimal Poddar.
Best Narration
Wild Karnataka, David Attenborough.
Best Film on Family Values
Oru Paathiraa Swapnam Pole (Malayalam), Shravan Venugopal.
Best Investigative Film
Jakkal, Vivek Wagh.
Best Exploration Film
Wild Karnataka (English), Amoghavarsha J S, Kalyan Varma, Sharath Champati, Vijay Mohan Raj.
Best Education Film
Apples and Oranges (English).
Best Promotional Film
The Shower (Hindi), Bauddhayan Mukherji.
Best Book on Cinema
A Gandhian Affair: India’s Curious Portrayal of Love in Cinema by Sanjay Suri.
Special mentions: Cinema Paharana Manus by Ashok Rane and Kannada Cinema: Jagathika Cinema Vikasa-Prerane Prabhava by PR Ramadasa Naidu.
Best Film Critic
Sohini Chattopadhyay.
Most film-friendly state
Sikkim.