The 69th National Film Awards were presented by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting today. Regional gems and national hits of cinema earned recognition at the national level.

Gujarati films Chhello Show (The Last Film Show) and Gandhi & Co bagged awards as well. Pushpa star Allu Arjun, Alia Bhatt for Gangubai Kathiawadi, and Kriti Sanon for Mimi were presented the awards for their lead roles.

Gujaratis shine at the National Awards

Gujarati films marked their presence with three awards. Actor Bhavin Rabari bagged the award for Best Child Artist for his role in Chhello Show (The Last Film Show). The Gujarati film Gandhi & Co won the award for Best Children's film. While, the Best Gujarati film category, Pan Nalin's The Last Film Show emerged as the winner.

Gandhi & Co.’s director Manish Saini said, “I initially felt that the awards were over and just when I was about to leave, Gandhi & Co was announced as the Best Children's Film. This is a moment of pride  for Gujarati films as we are now competing with the international cinema. Our film was made on a minimal budget, and that's why it feels great to win this award. This is my second national award and I’m extremely happy.” Saini has earlier won a national award for his film ‘Dhh’ in the 65th National Awards. 

In a conversation with us, The Last Show's director Pan Nalin said "I feel twice over the moon in the last 24 hours! The winning of the National Film Award I am thrilled to share with my cast and crew, it is their dedication and exceptional talents is on show in Chello Show."

He added "A few weeks ago, our entire team was disappointed when Gujarat State Award did not give Best State Film Award to Chhello Show, but little did we know that we had this great National honour coming our way."

Other than that, Paanchika won the Best Debut non-feature Film, which was directed by Ankit Kothari, while the Sanjay Mishra-starrer Dal Bhat directed by Nemil Shah, bagged the award for the Best Short Fiction film.

Pop-culture sensations bag several awards

The 69th National Awards felicitated regional cinema on a grand scale but also turned out huge for films with nationwide popularity.

Pushpa: The Rise - Part 1's Allu Arjun won the Best Actor award, while Alia Bhatt and Kriti Sanon shared their National award for Best Actress for their films Gangubai Kathiawadi and Mimi respectively.

Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, directed by R Madhavan won the Best Film award, while Shoojit Sircar's Sardar Udham won the award for Best Hindi film.

Here's a List of all the winners at the 69th National Awards.

Best Children's Film - Gandhi & Co. (Gujarati)

Best Feature Film -  Gujarati - The Chhello Show (The Last Film Show)

Best Child Artist - Bhavin Rabari (The Last Film Show)

Best debut non-feature film of a director - Paanchika (Gujarati)

Best Short Fiction Film - Daal Bhat (Gujarati)

Best Actress - Alia Bhatt (Gangubai Kathiawadi) and Kriti Sanon (Mimi)

Best Actor - Allu Arjun (Pushpa: The Rise - Part 1)

Best Feature Film - R Madhavan's Rocketry

Best Direction - Godavari (Marathi) - Nikhil Mahajan

Critic (Special Mention) - Subramanya Badoor

Best Film (Critic) - Purushothama Charyulu (Telugu)

Best Book on Cinema -  Music By Laxmikant Pyarelal: The Incredibly Melodious Journey (Rajiv Vijayakar)

Best Feature Film -  Hindi - Sardar Udham

Best Feature Film - Mishing - Boomba Ride

Best Feature Film - Assamese - Anur (Eyes on the Sunshine)

Best Feature Film - Bengali - Kalkokkho - House of Time

Best Feature Film -  Kannada - 777 Charlie

Best Feature Film - Maithili - Samanantar

Best Feature Film - Marathi - Ekda Kay Zala

Best Feature Film -  Malayalam - Home

Best Feature Film - Meiteilon -  Eikhoigi Yum

Best Feature Film - Odiya - Pratikshya (The Wait)

Best Feature Film - Tamil - Kadaisi Vivasayi (The Last Farmer)

Best Feature Film -  Telugu - Uppena (Wave)

Special Mention (Feature) - Kadaisi Vivasayi (The Last Farmer), Jhilli, Home and Anur - Eyes on the Sunshine

Best Narration/Voice-over - Kulada Kumar Bhattacharjee (HatiBondhu)

Best Music Direction - Ishaan Divecha (Succulent)

Best Editing - Abhro Banerjee (If Memory Serves Me Right)

Best Production Sound Recordist (Location/Sync Sound) - Suruchi Sharma (Meen Raag)

Best Audiography (Re-recordist) - Unni Krishnan (Ek Tha Gaon)

Best Cinematography - Bittu Rawat (Paatal-Tee)

Best Direction - Bakul Matiyani (Smile Please)

Best Film On Family Values - Chand Saanse

Special Jury - Rekha (Marathi Film)

Best Animation Film - Kandittundu (Malayalam)

Best Investigative Film - Looking For Challan (English)

Best Exploration/Adventurous Film - Ayushman (English, Kannada)

Best Educational Film - Sirpigalin Sirpangal (Tamil)

Best Film On Social Issues - Mithu Di (Marathi) and Three Two One (Marathi & Hindi)

Best Environmental Film - Munnam Valavu (Malayalam)

Best Promotional Film - Endangered Heritage 'Warli Art'

Best Science and Technology Film - Ethos Of Darkness

Best Arts/Cultural Film - T.N. Krishnan Bow Strings To Divine

Best Biographical - Rukhu Matir Dukhu Majhi (Bengali) and Beyond Blast (Manipuri)

Best Anthropological Film - Fire on Edge (Tiwa)

Best non-feature film - Ek Tha Gaon (Marathi and Garhwali)

Special mention : Baale Bangara (Aniruddha Jatkar), Karuvarai (Srikanth Deva), The Healing Touch (Sweta Kumar Das) and Ek Duaa (Ram Kamal Mukherjee)

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