The 68th National Film Awards were announced on Friday afternoon at the National Media Centre in New Delhi, with the honours for films from the year of 2021. The event is organised by the Directorate of Film Festivals, which comes under the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting.
Last year, Director Priyadarshan’s Malayalam war epic Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea , that is headlined by Mohanlal, won Best Feature Film, while the best acting honours went to Manoj Bajapayee for Bhonsle, Dhanush for Tamil film Asuran, and Kangana Ranaut for two of her films, Panga and Manikarnika: The Queen of Jhansi.
Here are the live updates:
4.23 pm
Non-feature films
Best Voice-over/ Narration: Shobha Tharoor Sreenivasan, Rhapsody of Rains – Monsoons of Kerala (English)
Best Music Direction: Vishal Bhardwaj for 1232 Kms: Marenge Toh Wahin Jaakar
Best Editing: Anadi Athaley for Borderlands
Best On-Location Sound Recordist: Sandip Bhati & Pradeep Lekhwar, Jadui Jangal for Magical Forest
Best Audiography: Ajit Singh Rathore, Pearl of the Desert (Rajasthani)
Best Cinematography: Nikhil S Praveen for Shabdikkunna Kalappa
Best Direction: Oh That’s Bhanu (English, Tamil, Malayalam and Hindi)
Best Film on Family Values: Kumkumarchan (Worship of the Goddess) (Marathi)
Best Short Fiction Film: Kachichinithu
Special Jury Award: Admitted (Hindi and English) Director: Ojaswee Sharma
Best Investigative Film: The Saviour: Brig. Pritam Singh (Punjabi)
Best Exploration/Adventure Film: Wheeling the Ball (English and Hindi)
Best Educational Film: Dreaming of Words (Malayalam)
Best Film on Social Issues: Justice Delayed but Delivered
Best Film on Social Issues: Three Sisters (Bengali)
Best Environment Film: Manah Aru Manuh (Manas and People) (Assamese)
Best Promotional Film: Surmounting Challenges (English)
Best Science and Technology Films: On the brink season 2- Bats (English)
Best Arts and Culture Film: Naadada Navaneeta DR PT Venkateshkumar
Best Biographical Film: Pabung Syam (Manipuri)
Best Ethnographic Film: Mandal ke Bol (Hindi)
4.22 pm
Best book on cinema: The longest kiss, by Kishwar Desai
Best book on cinema (Special Mention): MIT Anubhavangalude Pusthakam, Kali Paine Kalira Cinema
4.14 pm
Most film friendly state: Madhya Pradesh.
This year, 305 feature films were received as entries in 30 languages; and 148 non-feature films in 20 languages were received from all over the country, announces Additional Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Neerja Shekhar.
3.45 pm
Jury members present report
Jury members Vipul Shah, Chitrartha Singh, Anant Vijay, and Priyadarshanand present report on 68th National Film Awards.
