Global InformationNational Film Award for Best Feature Film information
| National Film Award for Best Feature Film | |
|---|---|
| National award for contributions to Indian Cinema | |
| Awarded for | Best Feature Film of the year |
| Sponsored by | Directorate of Film Festivals |
| Formerly called | President's Gold Medal for Best Feature Film |
| Reward(s) |
|
| First awarded | 1953 |
| Last awarded | 2021 |
| Most recent winner | Rocketry: The Nambi Effect |
| Highlights | |
| Total awarded | 67 |
| First winner | Shyamchi Aai |
| Website | http://dff.gov.in/  |
The National Film Award for Best Feature Film is one of the categories in the National Film Awards presented annually by the Directorate of Film Festivals, the organisation set up by Ministry of Information and Broadcasting in India. It is one of several awards presented for feature films and awarded with the Golden Lotus (Swarna Kamal). The award is announced for films produced in a year across the country, in all Indian languages. As of 2017[update], the award comprises a Swarna Kamal, a certificate, and a cash prize of ₹ 2,50,000 and is presented to the producer and the director of the film.
The National Film Awards were established in 1954 to "encourage production of the films of a high aesthetic and technical standard and educational and culture value" and also planned to include awards for regional films.[1] The awards were instituted as "State Awards for Films" but were renamed to "National Film Awards" at the 15th National Film Awards in 1967.[2] As of 2017[update], the award is one of six Swarna Kamal awards presented for the feature films. The award-winning film is included at the annual International Film Festival of India. Only the films made in any Indian language and silent films which are either shot on 35 mm, in a wider gauge, or digital format but released on a film or Video/Digital format and certified by the Central Board of Film Certification as a feature film or featurette are made eligible for the award.[3]
The inaugural award was named as "President's Gold Medal for the All India Best Feature Film" and was awarded to Marathi film, Shyamchi Aai (Shyam's Mother), produced and directed by Pralhad Keshav Atre and is based on Pandurang Sadashiv Sane's Marathi novel of the same name.[1]
of 2021 (2023), 68 feature films have been awarded the National Film Award for Best Feature Film:
Bengali 22, Malayalam 12, Hindi 12, Kannada
6, Marathi 5, Tamil 4, Assamese 2, Sanskrit 2, Gujarati 1, Beary 1 & Telugu 1. At the 26th National Film Awards (1978), no feature film was awarded with the Best Feature film award as the jury headed by filmmaker Chetan Anand scrutinised eighty films but did not consider any film to be "worthy of merit" and "measured up to the standard of excellence set forth by the jury".[4] At the 59th National Film Awards, two feature films shared the award; Marathi film Deool (Temple) and Beary film Byari.[5] Most recently, the award is presented to the film Rocketry: The Nambi Effect, directed by R. Madhavan.
Satyajit Ray is the most honoured director where six of his films—Pather Panchali (1955), Apur Sansar (1959), Charulata (1964), Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne (1968), Seemabaddha (1971), and Agantuk (1991)—won the award, followed Buddhadeb Dasgupta (five), Girish Kasaravalli and Mrinal Sen (four each), Shaji N. Karun (three), and Adoor Gopalakrishnan, Tapan Sinha, G. V. Iyer and Priyadarshan (two each). As of 2022, the award was presented to the films of Eleven debutant directors; Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali, 1955),[6] Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Swayamvaram, 1972),[7] M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Nirmalyam, 1973),[8] Girish Kasaravalli (Ghatashraddha, 1977),[9] Shaji N Karun (Piravi, 1988),[10] Sandeep Sawant (Shwaas, 2003),[11] Salim Ahamed (Adaminte Makan Abu, 2010),[12] Suveeran (Byari, 2011),[13] Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus, 2013),[14] Chaitanya Tamhane (Court, 2015), Abhishek Shah[15][16] ( Hellaro[17] 2018). Five films awarded with the Best Feature film award were also the Indian submission for the Academy Award for the Best Foreign Language Film; Apur Sansar (1959), Shwaas (2004), Adaminte Makan Abu (2011), Court (2015) and Village Rockstars (2018) .[18] Adi Shankaracharya (1983), the first film made in Sanskrit language,[19] and Byari (2011), the first film made in Beary language,[13] won the award at the 31st National Film Awards and 59th National Film Awards, respectively.
- ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
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15thawardPDFwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Call for entries; 64th National Film Awards for 2016" (PDF). Directorate of Film Festivals. pp. 6, 13. Archived from the original (PDF) on 15 February 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
26thawardPDFwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Cite error: The named reference
59thawardwas invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Hoffman, Jordan (5 May 2015). "Back on the little road: Satyajit Ray's Pather Panchali returns in all its glory". The Guardian. Archived from the original on 9 August 2015. Retrieved 13 May 2017.
- ^ Venkiteswaran, C. S. (22 November 2012). "Universal and timeless". The Hindu. Archived from the original on 17 December 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ Vijayakymar, B. (25 September 2011). "Nirmalyam 1973". The Hindu. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "Ghatashraddha, one of the 20 best movies". The Times of India. Bengaluru. 4 December 2009. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Shaji N. Karun profile @ International Film Festival Rotterdam". International Film Festival Rotterdam. Archived from the original on 17 November 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ Unnithan, Sandeep (22 November 2004). "Waiting to exhale". India Today. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ Ittyipe, Minu (5 December 2011). "Kodak Moment: Is Oscar glory for Abu a gossamer dream?". Outlook India. Archived from the original on 3 April 2017. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ a b Ramavarman, T (8 March 2012). "Theatre experience fuels Suveeran's film journey". The Times of India. Kochi. Retrieved 12 May 2017.
- ^ "Anand Gandhi turns filmmaker with "Theseus's Ship"". The Hindu. 2 April 2010. Archived from the original on 28 May 2018. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ "I am happy that Gujarati cinema will now be recognised nationwide: Abhishek Shah - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "Abhishek Shah". IMDb. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "National Film Awards 2019: Team 'Hellaro' bag Best Feature Film Award honour - Times of India". The Times of India. Retrieved 28 April 2022.
- ^ "List of Indian Submissions for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film". Film Federation of India. Archived from the original on 16 May 2017. Retrieved 11 May 2017.
- ^ Somaaya, Bhawana (8 December 2016). Once Upon a Time in India: A Century of Indian Cinema. Random House Publishers India Pvt. Limited. p. 232. ISBN 978-93-85990-40-3.