The 70th National Film Awards were announced on Monday, celebrating the best films across India from the year 2022. The winners were revealed in a ceremony held at the National Media Center in New Delhi, recognizing the outstanding cinematic achievements of the past year. This event, organized by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting (I&B), was postponed by two years due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The previous 69th National Film Awards had honored films from 2021.
This year’s jury featured Rahul Rawail as the Chairperson for Feature Films, Nila Madhab Panda for Non-Feature Films, and Gangadhar Mudalair for Best Writing on Cinema. Among the notable winners, Brahmastra triumphed with three awards, while Rishab Shetty and Manasi Parekh were honored as Best Actors. The Malayalam film Aattam stood out as the Best Film of the year.
70th National Film Awards – The key Awards
Best Film: Aattam (Malayalam)
Best Debut Film: Fouja (Haryanvi)
Best Film providing wholesome entertainment: Kantara (Kannada)
Best Feature Film promoting national, social, and environmental values: Kutch Express (Gujarati)
Best Film in AVGC: Brahmastra Part 1 (Hindi)
Best Director: Sooraj Barjatya – Uunchai (Hindi)
Best Actor in Leading Role: Nithya Menen – Thiruchitrambalam (Tamil), Manasi Parekh – Kutch Express (Gujarati), Rishab Shetty – Kantara (Kannada)
Best Actor in Supporting Role: Neena Gupta – Uunchai (Hindi), Pavan Raj Malhotra – Fouja (Gujarati)
Best Child Artiste: Sreepath – Malikappuram (Malayalam)
Crew awards
Best Action Direction: Anbariv – KGF Chapter 2 (Kannada)
Best Choreography: Jani Master, Sathish Krishnan – Thiruchitrambalam (Megham Karukatha) (Tamil)
Best Lyrics: Naushad Sadar Khan – Fouja (Salaami) (Gujarati)
Best Music Direction: Pritham (songs) – Brahmastra Part 1 (Hindi), AR Rahman (background music) – Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 (Tamil)
Best Makeup: Somnath Kundu – Aparajito (Bengali)
Best Costume Design: Niki Joshi – Kutch Express (Gujarati)
Best Production Design: Ananda Addhya – Aparajito (Bengali)
Best Editing: Mahesh Bhuvanend – Aattam (Malayalam)
Best Sound Design: Anand Krishnamoorthi – Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 (Tamil)
Best Screenplay: Anand Ekarshi (screenplay writer) – Aattam (Malayalam), Arpita Mukherjee and Rahul V Chittella (dialogues) – Gulmohar (Hindi)
Best Cinematography: Ravi Varman – Ponniyin Selvan Part 1 (Tamil)
Best Playback Singer: Bombay Jayshree – Saudi Vellakka CC 225/2009 (Chaayum Veyil) (Malayalam), Arijit Singh – Brahmastra Part 1 (Kesariya) (Hindi)
Regional films win big
Best Tiwa Film: Sikaisal
Best Telugu Film: Karthikeya 2
Best Tamil Film: Ponniyin Selvan Part 1
Best Punjabi Film: Baghi Di Dhee
Best Odia Film: Daman
Best Malayalam Film: Saudi Vellakka CC 225/2009
Best Marathi Film: Vaalvi
Best Kannada Film: KGF Chapter 2
Best Hindi Film: Gulmohar
Best Bengali Film: Kaberi Antardhan
Best Assamese Film: Emuthi Puthi
Special mentions
Manoj Bajpayee (actor) – Gulmohar (Hindi)
Sanjay Salil Chowdhury (music director) – Kadhikan (Malayalam)
Non-feature categories
Best Non-Feature Film: Ayena
Best Debut Film: Madhyantara
Best Biographical/Historical/Compilation Film: Aanakhi Ek Mohenjo Daro
Best Arts/Culture Film: Ranga Vibhoga/Varsa
Best Script: Mono No Aware
Best Narrator: Murmurs of the Jungle
Best Music Direction: Fursat
Best Editing: Madhyantara
Best Sound Design: Yaan
Best Cinematography: Mono No Aware
Best Direction: From the Shadow
Best Short Film: Xunyota
Best Animated Film: The Coconut Tree
Best Non-Feature Film Promoting Social and Environmental Values: On the Brink Season 2 – Gharial
Best Documentary: Murmurs of the Jungle
Film writing
Best Critic: Deepak Dua
Best Book on Cinema: Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography.
At the 69th National Film Awards, prominent actors including Allu Arjun, Alia Bhatt, Kriti Sanon, and Pankaj Tripathi received top honors. Rocketry: The Nambi Effect was named Best Feature Film, and SS Rajamouli’s blockbuster RRR was celebrated with six awards.