The 70th National Film Awards ceremony was a grand celebration of Indian cinema, presided over by President Droupadi Murmu at Vigyan Bhavan. The event recognized the industry’s finest talents for their exceptional contributions over the past year, with the highlight being the presentation of the prestigious Dadasaheb Phalke Award to veteran actor Mithun Chakraborty. The award commemorates Chakraborty’s legendary career, which spans decades and continues to inspire generations of actors.
One of the evening’s key moments was the announcement of Rishab Shetty as Best Actor for his powerful performance in Kantara. The Best Actress award was shared between two talented stars – Nithya Menen for her role in Thiruchitrambalam and Manasi Parekh for her performance in Kutch Express.
The award for Best Feature Film went to Aattam, while Kantara was named Best Popular Film. Sooraj Barjatya took home the Best Director award, and Gulmohar was recognized as the Best Hindi Film of the year.
President Murmu lauded the diversity of Indian cinema, highlighting its capacity to tell unique stories from various languages and regions. Films like KGF: Chapter 2 (Best Kannada Film), Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 (Best Tamil Film), and Daman (Best Odia Film) exemplified this sentiment.
Other notable awards included Neena Gupta for Best Supporting Actress, Pawan Malhotra for Best Supporting Actor, and the Special Mention category honoring Manoj Bajpayee in Gulmohar and Sanjoy Salil Chowdhury for Kalikhan.
The ceremony also celebrated excellence in technical categories. Aattam won Best Editing, while Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1 took home the award for Best Cinematography. KGF: Chapter 2 was recognized for Best Action Direction, and Pritam and AR Rahman shared honors for Best Music Director.
The event underscored the vast talent and creativity within Indian cinema, making the 70th National Film Awards an unforgettable evening.