The National Awards on Friday doffed its hat to mainstream stars Vinod Khanna and Sridevi, honouring them posthumously with the Dadasaheb Phalke and best actress awards.
Announcing Sridevi’s name, jury head Shekhar Kapur said the actress, who passed away at the age of 54 in February, was the most deserving candidate.
Sridevi was recognised for her role of an angry mother seeking justice for her daughter in the rape revenge drama Mom. Kapur had directed Sridevi in the eighties blockbuster Mr India.
“It was not because of the relationship we shared but because she was the most deserving candidate for her portrayal in Mom,” Kapur said.
Khanna, one of the biggest stars of the ’70s and ’80s, became the 49th recipient of the Dadasaheb Phalke award, Indian cinema’s highest honour. He is probably the second actor to be named for the honour posthumously after Prithviraj Kapoor.
Khanna, who starred in hits such as Mere Apne, Insaaf, Parvarish, Muqaddar Ka Sikandar, Qurbani, Dayavaan, Mera Gaon Mera Desh, Chandni, The Burning Train and Amar, Akbar, Anthony, died at the age of 70 in April last year.
The jury recognised the diversity in Indian cinema by distributing accolades to films belonging to different regional languages. Rima Das’ Assamese film Village Rockstars, about the music aspirations of a village girl, was named the best feature film, besides getting awards for the best location sound recordist, editing and best child artiste (Bhanita Das).
Jayaraj was named the best director and the best adapted screenplay writer for his Malayalam film Bhayanakam. PTI
SOME OF THE WINNERS:
Dadasaheb Phalke Award: Vinod Khanna
Best actress: Sridevi, Mom (Hindi)
Best actor: Riddhi Sen, Nagar Kirtan (Bengali)
Best supporting actress: Divya Dutta, Irada (Hindi)
Best supporting actor: Fahad Faazil, Thondimuthalum Driksakshiyum (Malayalam)
Best director: Jayaraj, Bhayanakam (Malayalam)
Best Hindi film: Newton
Best Bengali film: Mayurakshi
Best Assamese film: Ishu
Best Odia film: Hello Arsi
Best choreography: Toilet: Ek Prem Katha, Ganesh Acharya
Best special effects: Bahubali 2
Background score: AR Rahman, Mom
Special jury award: Nagar Kirtan (Bengali)
Best music direction: AR Rahman, Kaatru Veliyidai (Tamil)
Best female playback singer: Shasha Tirupati, Vaan Varuvaan, Kaatru Veliyidai
Best male playback singer: Yesudas, Poy Maranja Kalam, Viswasapoorvam Mansoor
Best film on national integration: Dhappa (Marathi)
Best popular film: Bahubali 2
Thank you. I just wish she was here today to see this — Boney Kapoor
This is one of the biggest ever awards I have received in my life. It is yet to sink in. I am overwhelmed. The actor in me feels alive again — Divya Dutta
National Award is like Oscar to me. This is my second national award. I won it for Bhaag Milkha Bhaag for the first time. For this win, I would like to thank Akshay Kumar, Neeraj Pandey and Bhumi Pednekar — Ganesh Acharya
This wouldn’t have been possible without an incredible cast, crew, and the love and support from the people of Chhattisgarh where we shot the film — Amit Masurkar
Elated with the news about Ghazi winning the best Telugu film. Even though I had a special appearance in the film, it was personally a very satisfying part for me as an actor — Taapsee Pannu
I am absolutely delighted. I had no idea I was even in the running. It feels amazing to know that the whole country thought my role in Newton was one of my best — Pankaj Tripathi
