69th National Film Awards

69th National Film Awards
Awarded forBest of Indian cinema in 2021
Awarded byNFDC
Presented byDroupadi Murmu
(President of India)
Announced on24 August 2023
Presented on17 October 2023
Official websitewww.nfdcindia.com
Highlights
Best Feature FilmRocketry: The Nambi Effect
Best Non-Feature FilmEk Tha Gaon
Best BookMusic by Laxmikant Pyarelal: The Incredibly Melodious Journey
Best Film CriticPurushothama Charyulu
Dadasaheb Phalke AwardWaheeda Rehman
Most awardsRRR (6)

The 69th National Film Awards ceremony was an event during which the National Film Development Corporation of India presented its annual National Film Awards to honour the best films of 2021 in Indian cinema. The awards ceremony was originally slated to be held on 3 May 2022 but was postponed due to delays after the COVID-19 pandemic.[1] The winners were announced on 24 August 2023, by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in a press conference.[2][3] The winners along with the Dadasaheb Phalke Award recipient were felicitated by the President, Droupadi Murmu on 17 October 2023 at the Vigyan Bhawan, New Delhi.[4][5]

Selection process

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The National Film Development Corporation of India invited online entries on 31 March 2023 with the acceptable last date for entries until 10 May 2023. Feature and Non-Feature Films certified by the Central Board of Film Certification between 1 January 2021, and 31 December 2021, were eligible for the film award categories. Books, critical studies, reviews or articles on cinema published in Indian newspapers, magazines, and journals between 1 January 2021, and 31 December 2021, were eligible for the best writing on cinema section. Entries of dubbed, revised or copied versions of a film or translation, abridgements, edited or annotated works and reprints were ineligible for the awards.

For the feature and non-feature Films sections, films in any Indian language, shot on 16 mm, 35 mm, a wider film gauge or a digital format, and released in cinemas, on video or digital formats for home viewing were eligible. Films were required to be certified as a feature film, a featurette or a Documentary/Newsreel/Non-Fiction by the Central Board of Film Certification.[6]

Dadasaheb Phalke Award

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Introduced in 1969, the Dadasaheb Phalke Award is India's highest award in the field of cinema given to recognise the contributions of film personalities towards the development of Indian cinema and for distinguished contributions to the medium, its growth and promotion. The recipient is awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award' (Swarna Kamal), cash prize of 1 million (US$12,000) and a shawl. The 2021 recipient is Waheeda Rehman.[7]

A committee consisting five eminent personalities from Indian film industry was appointed to evaluate the lifetime achievement award, Dadasaheb Phalke Award. Following were the jury members:

  • Jury Members
 • Asha Parekh
 • Chiranjeevi
 • Paresh Rawal
 • Shekhar Kapur
 • Prosenjit Chatterjee
Award Image Awardee(s) Awarded As Cash Prize
Dadasaheb Phalke Award Waheeda Rehman Actress 1,000,000 (US$12,000)

Feature films

[edit]

Golden Lotus Awards

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Official Name: Swarna Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Award Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Feature Film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect Tamil
Hindi
Director: R. Madhavan ₹250,000
Best Direction Godavari Marathi Nikhil Mahajan ₹250,000
Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment RRR Telugu Producer: D. V. V. Danayya
Director: S. S. Rajamouli
₹200,000 each
Best Children's Film Gandhi & Co. Gujarati Producer: MD Media Corp
Director: Manish Saini
₹150,000 each
Best Debut Film of a Director Meppadiyan Malayalam Producer: Unni Mukundan
Director: Vishnu Mohan
₹125,000 each

Silver Lotus Award

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Official Name: Rajat Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Award Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Feature Film on National Integration The Kashmir Files Hindi Producer: Abhishek Agarwal Arts
Director: Vivek Agnihotri
₹150,000 each
Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation Aavasavyuham Malayalam Producer: Krishand
Director: Krishand
₹150,000 each
Best Film on Social Issues Anunaad – The Resonance Assameese Producer: Assam State Film (Finance & Development) Corporation Ltd.
Director: Reema Borah
₹150,000 each
Best Actor Pushpa: The Rise Telugu Allu Arjun ₹50,000
Best Actress Gangubai Kathiawadi Hindi Alia Bhatt ₹50,000 each
Mimi Hindi Kriti Sanon
Best Supporting Actor Mimi Hindi Pankaj Tripathi ₹50,000
Best Supporting Actress The Kashmir Files Hindi Pallavi Joshi ₹50,000
Best Child Artist Chhello Show Gujarati Bhavin Rabari ₹50,000
Best Male Playback Singer RRR Telugu Kaala Bhairava ("Komuram Bheemudo") ₹50,000
Best Female Playback Singer Iravin Nizhal Tamil & Telugu Shreya Ghoshal ("Mayava Chayava") ₹50,000
Best Cinematography Sardar Udham Hindi Avik Mukhopadhyay ₹50,000
Best Screenplay
 • Screenplay Writer (Original)
Nayattu Malayalam Shahi Kabir ₹50,000
Best Screenplay
 • Screenplay Writer (Adapted)
Gangubai Kathiawadi Hindi Sanjay Leela Bhansali
Utkarshini Vashishtha
₹50,000
Best Screenplay
 • Dialogues
Gangubai Kathiawadi Hindi Utkarshini Vashishtha
Prakash Kapadia
₹50,000
Best Audiography
 • Location Sound Recordist
Chavittu Malayalam Arun Asok
Sonu KP
₹50,000
Best Audiography
 • Sound Designer
Jhilli Bengali Aneesh Basu ₹50,000
Best Audiography
 • Re-recordist of the Final Mixed Track
Sardar Udham Hindi Sinoy Joseph ₹50,000
Best Music Direction
 • Songs
Pushpa: The Rise Telugu Devi Sri Prasad ₹50,000
Best Music Direction
 • Background Score
RRR Telugu M. M. Keeravani ₹50,000
Best Editing Gangubai Kathiawadi Hindi Sanjay Leela Bhansali ₹50,000
Best Production Design Sardar Udham Hindi Dmitri Malich-Konkov
Mansi Dhruv Mehta
₹50,000
Best Costume Design Sardar Udham Hindi Veera Kapur Ee ₹50,000
Best Make-up Artist Gangubai Kathiawadi Hindi Preetishsheel Singh D'Souza ₹50,000
Best Lyrics Konda Polam Telugu Chandrabose ("Dham Dham Dham") ₹50,000
Best Special Effects RRR Telugu V. Srinivas Mohan ₹50,000
Best Choreography RRR Telugu Prem Rakshith ("Naatu Naatu") ₹50,000
Best Stunt Choreographer RRR Telugu King Soloman ₹50,000
Special Jury Award Shershaah Hindi Producer: Karan Johar, Dharma Productions
Director: Vishnuvardhan
₹2,00,000 each
Special Mention Nallandi
Aranya & Bithan
Indrans
Jahanara Begum
Tamil
Bengali
Malayalam
Assamese
Kadaisi Vivasayi
Jhilli
Home
Anur
Certificate only

Regional awards

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National Film Awards are also given to the best films in the regional languages of India. Awards for the regional languages are categorised as per their mention in the Eighth schedule of the Constitution of India. Awardees included producers and directors of the film. No films in languages other than those specified in the Schedule VIII of the Constitution were eligible.

Award Film Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Producer Director
Best Feature Film in Assamese Anur Gopendra Mohan Das Monjul Baruah ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Bengali Kalkokkho Anjan Bose Rajdeep Paul, Sarmistha Maiti ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Gujarati Chhello Show Pan Nalin, Dheer Momaya, Siddharth Roy Kapur, Marc Duale Pan Nalin ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Hindi Sardar Udham Ronnie Lahiri, Sheel Kumar Shoojit Sircar ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Kannada 777 Charlie G. S. Gupta, Rakshit Shetty Kiranraj K. ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Maithili Samanantar Niraj Kumar Mishra, Atul Pandey Niraj Kumar Mishra ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Malayalam Home Vijay Babu Rojin Thomas ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Manipuri Eikhoigi Yum Romi Meitei & Chingsubam Sheetal Romi Meitei ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Marathi Ekda Kaay Zala Saleel Kulkarni, Siddharth Mahadevan, Soumil Shringarpure, Siddharth Khinvasara, Soumendu Kuber, Arundhati Datye, Anoop Nimkar, Nitin Prakash Vaidya Saleel Kulkarni ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Odia Pratikshya Anupam Patnaik Anupam Patnaik ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Tamil Kadaisi Vivasayi M. Manikandan M. Manikandan ₹1,00,000 each
Best Feature Film in Telugu Uppena Naveen Yerneni, Y. Ravi Shankar Buchi Babu Sana ₹1,00,000 each

Short films

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Short films made in any Indian language and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a documentary/newsreel/fiction are eligible for non-feature film section.

Golden Lotus Award

[edit]

Official Name: Swarna Kamal

All the awardees are awarded with 'Golden Lotus Award (Swarna Kamal)', a certificate and cash prize.

Award Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Non-Feature Film Ek Tha Gaon Producer & Director: Srishti Lakhera ₹1,50,000 each
Best Director of Non-Feature Film Smile Please Hindi Bakul Matiyani ₹1,50,000

Silver Lotus Award

[edit]

Official Name: Rajat Kamal

All the Awardees are awarded with 'Silver Lotus Award (Rajat Kamal)' and cash prize.

Award Film Language Awardee(s) Cash Prize
Best Debut Non-Feature Film of A Director Paanchika Producer: Shreya Kapadiya
Director: Ankit Kothari
75,000/- each
Best Biographical Film Beyond Blast Manipuri Producer: Konjengbam Sushila Leima

Director: Saikhom Ratan

50,000/- each
Rukhu Matir Dukhu Majhi Bengali Producer: Somnath Mondal
Director: Somnath Mondal
50,000/- each
Best Arts / Cultural Film T.N. Krishnan Bow Strings to Divine Producer:
Director:
50,000/- each
Best Environment Film Munnam Valavu Producer:
Director:
50,000/- each
Best Promotional Film Producer:
Director:
50,000/- each
Best Film on Other Social Issues Mithu Di Three Two One Producer:
Director:
₹150,000 each
Producer:
Director:
Best Educational Film Sirpigalin Sirpangal Tamil Producer: KKV Media Venture
Director: B. Lenin
50,000/- each
Best Ethnographic Film Producer:
Director:
50,000/- each
Best Exploration Film Ayushman English
Kannada
Producer: Mathew Varghese
Dinesh Rajkumar N.
Naveen Francis
Director: Jacob Varghese
50,000/- each
Best Investigative Film Looking for Challan English Producer: IGNCA
Director: Bappa Ray
50,000/- each
Best Animation Film Kandittundu Malayalam Producer: Studio Eeksaurus Productions Pvt. Ltd.
Director: Adithi Krishnadas
50,000/-
Best Short Fiction Film Dal Bhat Gujarati Producer & Director: Nemil Shah 50,000/- each
Best Film on Family Values Chand Saanse Hindi Producer: Chandrakant Kulkarni
Director: Pratima Joshi
50,000/- each
Best Cinematography Pataal-Tee Bhotiya Bittu Rawat 50,000/- each
Best Audiography Ek Tha Gaon Garhwali
Hindi
Re-recordist: Krishnanunni N R 50,000/-
Best Location Sound Recordist (Location/Sync Sound) Meen Raag Rajasthani Production Sound Recordist: Suruchi Sharma 50,000/-
Best Editing If Memory Serves Me Right English Abhro Banerjee 50,000/-
Best Music Direction Succulent Hindi
English
Marathi
Ishaan Divecha 50,000/-
Best Narration / Voice Over Hati Bondhu English
Assamese
Kulada Kumar Bhattacharjee 50,000/-
Special Jury Award Rekha Marathi Shekhar Bapu Rankhambe 1,00,000/-
Special Mention Award

References

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  1. ^ "Call for entries for 69th National Films Awards 2021". e-pao.net.
  2. ^ "69th National Film Awards for the year 2021 announce". Press Information Bureau. 24 August 2023. Retrieved 9 October 2024.
  3. ^ "69th National Film Awards 2023 complete winners list: Rocketry, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, Allu Arjun, RRR, Gangubai Kathiawadi win big". 24 August 2023.
  4. ^ "Media Advisory for 69th National Film Awards". Press Information Bureau. 15 October 2023. Retrieved 15 October 2023.
  5. ^ Live: Presentation Ceremony of the "69th National Film Awards" - 17 October 2023. DD National. 13 October 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023 – via YouTube.
  6. ^ "69th National Films Awards 2021" (PDF). NFDC.
  7. ^ The Indian Express (26 September 2023). "Waheeda Rehman honoured with Dadasaheb Phalke Award for contributions to Indian cinema, expemplifying 'strength of Bharatiya Nari'". Archived from the original on 26 September 2023. Retrieved 13 October 2023.
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