Bollywood swept most of the main categories at the National Film Awards. Amitabh Bachchan was named Best Actor for Piku, Kangana Ranaut Best Actress for Tanu Weds Manu Returns, and Sanjay Leela Bhansali Best Director for Bajirao Mastani.
SS Rajamouli’s Telugu action extravaganza Baahubali won Best film and best special effects.
Kalki Koechlin’s performance as a person with cerebral palsy in Margarita With a Straw has been passed over by most award juries, and although she lost out in the main category to Ranaut, she got a Jury prize for her efforts.
The winners include Dum Laga Ke Haisha (Best Hindi film), Kanche (Best Telugu film), Pathemari (Best Malayalam film) and Ringan (best Marathi film).
Sharat Katariya’s Dum Laga Ke Haisha examines the troubled marriage between a thin man and an overweight woman. Krish’s Kanche is a period film about the rivalry between two friends set against the backdrop of WWII. Salim Ahamed’s Pathemari, starring Mammooty, explores the migration of Mayalalis to the Gulf in the 1960s. Gajendra Ahire’s Ringan is about the relationship between a father and his son. Raam Reddy’s Thithi follows the comedic events that result from the death of a family’s patriarch in a village in Karnataka. Gurvinder Singh’s Chauthi Koot (Best Punjabi film) is set in the troubled 1980s in Punjab, and looks at a farming family caught between militants and the Army.
Vetrimaaran’s Visaranai (Interrogation), a drama about corruption in the police ranks, bagged the Best Tamil Film prize. Samuthrakani, the filmmaker and occasional actor, also won a gong for Best Supporting Actor for his performance as an honest police officer. The film’s editor, Kishore TE, won the Best Editing award. Kishore died in 2015 at the age of 32 from a brain tumour.
Bhaskar Hazarika’s Kothanodi (Best Assamese film) is based on supernatural folk tales. Manjo Borah’s Dau Huduni Methai, which explores the effects of insurgency and counterinsurgency operations on the lives of common people, was named Best Bodo film.
Soumnedra Padhi’s Duronto, a biopic about child marathon runner Budhia Singh, was named Best Children’s Film. Fisherwoman and Tuk Tuk bagged the Best Animation prize. In Suresh Eriyat’s film, age and gender pose no obstacles to the dream of owning an autorickshaw.
OP Srivastava’s biographical documentary on filmmaker Girish Kasarvalli, Life in Metaphors, won in the Best Biographical category.
Sanjay’s Malayalam movie Nirnayakam won for Best Film on Social Issues. Through a mysterious death and its cover-up, the film explores the government’s attitudes towards human rights.
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