69th National Film Awards 2023 Winners Announced: Rocketry, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, and Allu Arjun Emerge Victorious

The 69th National Film Awards 2023 were revealed at the National Media Center in New Delhi on Thursday. The official award ceremony, where the President will bestow honors upon the outstanding Indian films from various languages in the 2021 calendar year, will be held at a later date. Eligibility for consideration encompassed feature and non-feature films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification (CBFC) between January 1, 2021, and December 31, 2021.

Here’s the comprehensive list of the victors at the 69th National Film Awards:

Main Categories:

• Best Feature Film: “Rocketry”
• Best Director: Nikhil Mahajan for “Godavari”
• Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: “RRR”
• Nargis Dutt Award for Best Feature Film on National Integration: “The Kashmir Files”
• Best Actor: Allu Arjun for “Pushpa”
• Best Actress: Alia Bhatt for “Gangubai Kathiawadi” and Kriti Sanon for “Mimi”
• Best Supporting Actor: Pankaj Tripathi for “Mimi”
• Best Supporting Actress: Pallavi Joshi for “The Kashmir Files”
• Best Child Artist: Bhavin Rabari for “Chhello Show”
• Best Screenplay (Original): Shahi Kabir for “Nayattu”
• Best Screenplay (Adapted): Sanjay Leela Bhansali & Utkarshini Vashishtha for “Gangubai Kathiawadi”
• Best Dialogue Writer: Utkarshini Vashishtha & Prakash Kapadia for “Gangubai Kathiawadi”
• Best Music Director (Songs): Devi Sri Prasad for “Pushpa”
• Best Music Direction (Background Music): MM Keeravaani for “RRR”
• Best Male Playback Singer: Kaala Bhairava for “RRR”
• Best Female Playback Singer: Shreya Ghoshal for “Iravin Nizhal”
• Best Lyrics: Chandrabose for “Konda Polam’s Dham Dham Dham”
• Best Hindi Film: “Sardar Udham”
• Best Kannada Film: “777 Charlie”
• Best Malayalam Film: “Home”
• Best Gujarati Film: “Chhello Show”
• Best Tamil Film: “Kadaisi Vivasayi”
• Best Telugu Film: “Uppena”
• Best Maithili Film: “Samanantar”
• Best Mishing Film: “Boomba Ride”
• Best Marathi Film: “Ekda Kaay Zala”
• Best Bengali Film: “Kalkokkho”
• Best Assamese Film: “Anur”
• Best Meiteilon Film: “Eikhoigi Yum”
• Best Odia Film: “Pratikshya”
• Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director: “Meppadiyan” by Vishnu Mohan
• Best Film on Social Issues: “Anunaad – The Resonance”
• Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: “Aavasavyuham”
• Best Children’s Film: “Gandhi and Co”
• Best Audiography (Location Sound Recordist): Arun Asok & Sonu K P for “Chavittu”
• Best Audiography (Sound Designer): Aneesh Basu for “Jhilli”
• Best Audiography (Re-recordist of the final mixed track): Sinoy Joseph for “Sardar Udham”
• Best Choreography: Prem Rakshith for “RRR”
• Best Cinematography: Avik Mukhopadhyay for “Sardar Udham”
• Best Costume Designer: Veera Kapur Ee for “Sardar Udham”
• Best Special Effects: Srinivas Mohan for “RRR”
• Best Production Design: Dmitrii Malich and Mansi Dhruv Mehta for “Sardar Udham”
• Best Editing: Sanjay Leela Bhansali for “Gangubai Kathiawadi”
• Best Make-up: Preetisheel Singh for “Gangubai Kathiawadi”
• Best Stunt Choreography: King Soloman for “RRR”
• Special Jury Award: “Shershaah” directed by Vishnuvardhan
• Special Mention:
  1. Late Shri Nallandi for “Kadaisi Vivasayi”
  2. Aranya Gupta & Bithan Biswas for “Jhilli”
  3. Indrans for “Home”
  4. Jahanara Begum for “Anur”
• Best Non-feature film: “Ek Tha Gaon”
• Best Direction (Non-feature film): Bakul Matiyani for “Smile Please”
• Best Debut Non-Feature Film of a Director: “Paanchika” directed by Ankit Kothari
• Best Anthropological Film: “Fire on Edge”
• Best Biographical Film:
  1. “Rukhu Matir Dukhu Majhi”
  2. “Beyond Blast”
• Best Arts Films: “T.N. Krishnan Bow Strings to Divine”
• Best Science & Technology Films: “Ethos of Darkness
• Best Promotional Film: “Endangered Heritage ‘Warli Art’”
• Best Environment Film (Non-feature film): “Munnam Valavu”
• Best Film on Social Issues (Non-feature film):
  1. “Mithu Di”
  2. “Three Two One”
• Best Investigative Film: “Looking For Challan”
• Best Exploration Film: “Ayushman”
• Best Educational Film: “Sirpigalin Sirpangal”
• Best Short Fiction Film: “Dal Bhat”
• Best Animation Film: “Kandittundu”
• Best Film on Family Values: “Chand Saanse”
• Best Cinematography (Non-feature film): Bittu Rawat for “Pataal”
• Best Audiography (Re-recordist of the final mixed track) (Non-feature film): Unni Krishnan for “Ek Tha Gaon”
• Best Production Sound Recordist (Location/Sync Sound) (Non-feature film): Suruchi Sharma for “Meen Raag”
• Best Editing (Non-feature film): Abhro Banerjee for “If Memory Serves Me Right”
• Best Music Direction (Non-feature film): Ishaan Divecha for “Succelent”
• Best Narration/Voice Over (Non-feature film): Kulada Kumar Bhattacharjee for “Hathibondhu”
• Special Mention (Non-feature film):
  1. Aniruddha Jatkar for “Baale Bangara”
  2. Srikanth Deva for “Karuvarai”
  3. Sweta Kumar Das for “The Healing Touch”
  4. Ram Kamal Mukherjee for “Ek Duaa”
• Special Jury Award (Non-feature film): Shekhar Bapu Rankhambe for “Rekha”
• Best Book on Cinema: “Music by Laxmikant Pyarelal: The Incredibly Melodious Journey” by Rajiv Vijayakar
• Best Film Critic: Purushothama Charyulu
• Best Film Critic (Special Mention): Subramanya Bandoor

The COVID-19 pandemic has caused a two-year delay in the scheduled award ceremonies. The 68th National Film Awards, originally set for 2022, finally recognized the finest Indian films that graced screens in the year 2020. Notably, the Tamil film “Soorarai Pottru” emerged victorious as the Best Feature Film, with the late filmmaker Sachy being posthumously honored as the Best Director for “Ayyappanum Koshiyum.” The Best Actor award was shared by Ajay Devgn and Suriya, while Aparna Balamurali clinched the Best Actress title.

Likewise, the 67th National Film Awards, designed to applaud the exceptional contributions of Indian cinema during 2019, found themselves celebrated in 2021. The epic “Marakkar: Lion of the Arabian Sea” claimed the top accolade during that year.

Since its inception in 1954, the National Film Awards have been meticulously overseen by the Directorate of Film Festivals. While the inaugural Best Feature Film honor was bestowed upon the Marathi gem “Shyamchi Aai,” the record for the most prestigious wins in the history of the awards is held by “Lagaan,” which garnered a remarkable eight distinctions in 2002. Beyond recognizing accomplishments on a national scale, the event also shines a spotlight on remarkable regional language films and pays homage to industry luminaries through the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award for lifetime achievement. Notably, the previous year’s recipient of this esteemed accolade was the legendary superstar Rajinikanth.