NEW DELHI : Ajay Devgn and Suriya shared the best actor award at the 68th National Film Awards announced here.

The best actor in female category was won by Aparna Balamurali for ‘Soorarai Pottru.’ Ajay Devgn won the award for his role in ‘Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior’ and Suriya won it for ‘Soorarai Pottru.’

This is the third time Ajay Ajay Devgn has won this award.

Tanahji was released in January 2020 and quickly grabbed the hearts of audiences in India and around the world.

‘Soorarai Pottru’ is a dramatized portrayal of retired Army Captain GR Gopinath’s life as the founder of the low-cost airline Air Deccan. Despite having a straight OTT release, the film was a big success, with fans flooding Twitter with rave reviews. Suriya and Guneet Monga both co-produced the film.

Madhya Pradesh bagged the award for Most Film-Friendly State at the National Film Awards.

Uttarakhand and Uttar Pradesh bagged Most Film-Friendly (Special mention) Award.

“Most film-friendly (special mention) award goes to Uttarakhand and UP. Most film-friendly film state goes to Madhya Pradesh,” Neerja Sekhar, Additional Secretary, Ministry of Information and Broadcasting said.

Madhya Pradesh has received the award earlier also.

A 10-member jury led by director-producer Vipul Shah met Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday morning to submit its report on the 68th National Film Awards.

This year, there are 50 categories with over 300 feature films and 150 non-feature films competing for the prizes. There are 30 different languages in the movies.

Apart from chairperson Shah, the jury members included cinematographer Dharam Gulati, National award-winning fame Bengali actor Sreelekha Mukherjee, cinematographer GS Bhaskar, A Karthikraaja, VN Aditya, Viji Thampi, Sanjeev Rattan, S Thangadurai and Nishigandha.

Producer-director Vipul Shah told ANI, “It has been heartening to see the kind of response that was received and the number of films that we got to see. And these were very difficult COVID times during which these films were either made or being made.”

Chitrartha Singh who headed the non-feature jury stated, “We have been able to review close to 140 non-feature films including documentaries and it is amazing to see the kind of content that has come forth, especially from areas like the north-east.”

Journalist Anant Vijay chaired the Best Writing on Cinema category.

Here is a complete list of the awards:
Best Feature Film : Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Producer: 2D Entertainment Pvt.Ltd; Director: Sudha Kongara
Best Actor : Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Actor: Suriya & Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Hindi); Actor: Ajay Devgn
Best Actress : Soorarai Pottru (Tamil); Actress: Aparrna Balamurali
Best Direction : AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Director: Sachidanandan KR
Best Supporting Actor : AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Supporting Actor: Biju Menon
Best Supporting Actress : Sivaranjaniyum Innum Sila Pengallum (Tamil); Supporting Actress: Lakshmi Priya Chandramouli
Best Children’s Film : Sumi (Marathi); Producer: Harshall Kamat Entertainment; Director: Amol Vasant Gole
Best Film on Environment Conservation/Preservation: Taledanda (Beheading a Life) (Kannada) Producer: Krupanidhi Kreations; Director: Praveen Krupakar
Best Film on Social Issues (Themes such as prohibition, women and child empowerment, social evils like dowry, drug abuse, empowerment of differently-abled people, tribal and indigenous people etc.): Funeral (Marathi); Producer: Before After Entertainment; Director: Vivek Dubey
Award for Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment: Tanhaji: The Unsung Warrior (Hindi); Producer: Ajay Devgn FFilms; Director: Om Raut
Indira Gandhi Award for Best Debut Film of a Director : Mandela (Tamil) ; Producer: YNOT Studios; Director: Madonne Ashwin
Best Screenplay: Soorarai Pottru (Tamil)
Best Cinematography: Avijatrik (The Wanderlust of Apu) (Bengali); Cameraman: Supratim Bhol
Best Female Playback Singer: AK Ayyappanum Koshiyum (Malayalam); Singer: Nanchamma
Best Male Playback Singer: Mi Vasantrao (I Am Vasantrao) (Marathi); Singer: Rahul Deshpande
Best Music Direction: Ala Vaikunthapuramuloo
Best Child Artist: Tak-Tak (Marathi); Child Artist: Anish Mangesh Gosavi; Sumi (Marathi); Child Artist: Akanksha Pingle & Divyesh Indulkar
Best Hindi Film: Toolsidar Junior
Best Bengali Film: Avijatrik
Best Malayalam Film: Engagement on Monday (English translation)
Best Tamil Film: Sivaranjiniyum Innum Sila Pengalum
Best Telugu Film: Colour Photo
Best Kannada Film: Dollu
Best Marathi Film: Tale of a Paithani (translation)
Best Assamese Film: Bridge
Best Choreography: Natyam

(ANI)