The 70th National Film Awards were announced on Friday, with a strong showing from the South Indian film industry. Kannada, Tamil and Malayalam cinema emerged as major winners, capturing multiple awards in key categories. However, the Telugu film industry disappointed with just one win.
Rishab Shetty’s blockbuster ‘Kantara’ was a double winner, clinching the Best Actor award for Shetty and the Best Feature Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment title. The win is totally worth it. Malayalam’s ‘Aattam’ also made a significant impact, winning Best Feature Film, Best Screenplay, and Best Editing. ‘Ponniyin Selvan 1’ won four Awards: AR Rahman won the Best Background score; Ravi Varman won the Best Cinematographer Award; Lyca Productions won the Best Film Award for Tamil; Anandh Krishnamurthy won the Best Sound Designer Award.
Nithya Menen shared the Best Actress award with Manasi Parekh for ‘Thiruchitrambalam’ and ‘Kutch Express’, respectively. Meanwhile, the high-octane ‘KGF: Chapter 2’ bagged awards for Best Action Direction and Best Kannada Film.
Other notable wins include Nikhil Siddhartha's ‘Karthikeya 2’ as Best Telugu Film, and ‘Gulmohar’ as Best Hindi Film. Bollywood’s Sooraj Barjatya was awarded Best Director. Neena Gupta and Pawan Malhotra took home the Best Supporting Actress and Best Supporting Actor awards, respectively.
