National Film Award for Best Feature Film

The National 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 2016, 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 included 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 2016, 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] As of 2016, sixty-four feature films have been awarded which are made in twelve different languages: Bengali (twenty-two), Hindi (fourteen), Malayalam (eleven), Kannada (six), Marathi (five), English (three), Sanskrit and Tamil (two each), Assamese, Beary, Gujarati, and Telugu (one each). At the 26th National Film Awards (1979), 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 Marathi film Kaasav (Turtle), produced and directed by filmmaker duo Sumitra Bhave–Sunil Sukthankar.^[6] The film depicts the issue of depression among youngsters in relation to the life and nesting cycle of Olive Ridley Sea Turtles.^[7]

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, and G. V. Iyer (two each). As of 2016, the award was presented to the films of ten debutant directors; Satyajit Ray (Pather Panchali, 1955),^[8] Adoor Gopalakrishnan (Swayamvaram, 1972),^[9] M. T. Vasudevan Nair (Nirmalyam, 1973),^[10] Girish Kasaravalli (Ghatashraddha, 1977),^[11] Shaji N. Karun (Piravi, 1988),^[12] Sandeep Sawant (Shwaas, 2003),^[13] Salim Ahamed (Adaminte Makan Abu, 2010),^[14] Suveeran (Byari, 2011),^[15] Anand Gandhi (Ship of Theseus, 2013),^[16] and Chaitanya Tamhane (Court, 2015).^[17] Four 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), and Court (2015).^[18] Adi Shankaracharya (1983), the first film made in Sanskrit language,^[19] and Byari (2011), the first film made in Beary language,^[15] won the award at the 31st National Film Awards and 59th National Film Awards, respectively.

Awards

Since its inception in 1953, the producer of the film is awarded with the Gold medal and a certificate.^[1] A cash prize of ₹ 20,000 was introduced at the 5th National Film Awards (1957) and was revised to ₹ 40,000 at the 18th National Film Awards (1970),^[20] to ₹ 50,000 at the 28th National Film Awards (1980),^[21] to ₹ 2,50,000 at the 54th National Film Awards (2006).^[22][23]

From 1953 till 1956,^[1][24] the director of the film was awarded with the Gold medal which was later changed in 1957 to a cash prize of ₹ 5,000.^[22] From 1967 till 1973,^[2][25] a plaque was also awarded to the director and cash prize was revised to ₹ 10,000 in 1970.^[20] At the 22nd National Film Awards (1974),^[26] the award for the director was changed to Rajat Kamal (Silver Lotus) and a cash prize of ₹ 15,000 which was later revised to ₹ 20,000 at the 25th National Film Awards (1977).^[27] Since 28th National Film Awards (1980),^[21] the director is awarded with the Swarna Kamal and a cash prize of ₹ 25,000 which was later revised to ₹ 50,000 at the 28th National Film Awards (1980),^[21] to ₹ 2,50,000 at the 54th National Film Awards (2006).^[23]

In 1973 and 1974, the lead actor and actress of the film were also awarded. P. J. Antony and Sumithra received a souvenir for Malayalam film Nirmalyam at the 21st National Film Awards (1973).^[25] Antony was also awarded the Best Actor, then known as the "Bharat Award for the Best Actor". Utpal Dutt and Gita Sen were awarded with a medallion for Bengali Film Chorus at 22nd National Film Awards (1974).^[26]

Winners

Films in the following languages have won the Best Feature Film award:

List of films, showing the year (award ceremony), language(s), producer(s), director(s) and citation
Year	Film(s)	Language(s)	Producer(s)	Director(s)	Citation	Refs.
1953 (1st)	Shyamchi Aai	Marathi	Pralhad Keshav Atre	Pralhad Keshav Atre	–	[1]
1954 (2nd)	Mirza Ghalib	Hindi	Sohrab Modi	Sohrab Modi	–	[28]
1955 (3rd)	Pather Panchali	Bengali	Government of West Bengal	Satyajit Ray	–	[29]
1956 (4th)	Kabuliwala	Bengali	Charuchitra	Tapan Sinha	–	[24]
1957 (5th)	Do Aankhen Barah Haath	Hindi	V. Shantaram	V. Shantaram	–	[22]
1958 (6th)	Sagar Sangamey	Bengali	De Luxe Film Distributors	Debaki Bose	–	[30]
1959 (7th)	Apur Sansar	Bengali	Satyajit Ray Productions	Satyajit Ray	–	[31]
1960 (8th)	Anuradha	Hindi	• Hrishikesh Mukherjee  • L. B. Thakur	Hrishikesh Mukherjee	–	[32]
1961 (9th)	Bhagini Nivedita	Bengali	Aurora Film Corporation	Bijoy Bose	–	[33]
1962 (10th)	Dada Thakur	Bengali	Shyamlal Jalan	Sudhir Mukherjee	–	[34]
1963 (11th)	Shehar Aur Sapna	Hindi	Naya Sansar	Khwaja Ahmad Abbas	–	[35]
1964 (12th)	Charulata	Bengali	R. D. Bansal	Satyajit Ray	–	[36]
1965 (13th)	Chemmeen	Malayalam	Babu Ismail Settu	Ramu Kariat	–	[37]
1966 (14th)	Teesri Kasam	Hindi	Shailendra	Basu Bhattacharya	–	[38]
1967 (15th)	Hatey Bazarey	Bengali	Asim Dutta	Tapan Sinha	–	[2]
1968 (16th)	Goopy Gyne Bagha Byne	Bengali	• Nepal Dutta  • Asim Dutta	Satyajit Ray	–	[39]
1969 (17th)	Bhuvan Shome	Hindi	Mrinal Sen Productions	Mrinal Sen	–	[40]
1970 (18th)	Samskara	Kannada	Pattabhirama Reddy	Pattabhirama Reddy	–	[20]
1971 (19th)	Seemabaddha	Bengali	• Bharat Shamsher  • Jang Bahadur Rana	Satyajit Ray	–	[41]
1972 (20th)	Swayamvaram	Malayalam	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	–	[42]
1973 (21st)	Nirmalyam	Malayalam	M. T. Vasudevan Nair	M. T. Vasudevan Nair	–	[25]
1974 (22nd)	Chorus	Bengali	Mrinal Sen Productions	Mrinal Sen	–	[26]
1975 (23rd)	Chomana Dudi	Kannada	Praja Films	B. V. Karanth	–	[43]
1976 (24th)	Mrigayaa	Hindi	Uday Bhaskar International	Mrinal Sen	–	[44]
1977 (25th)	Ghatashraddha	Kannada	Sadanand Suvarna	Girish Kasaravalli	For lifting the creative cinema of that region to new levels of artistic excellence, for delicacy of treatment and subtle use of the film medium, for the shifting perspective through which the tragic solution is revealed, for projecting the painful, tremulous transition from innocence to experience, for searing intellectual honesty, for the fusion of all the elements into a form so distinctive as to declare it a masterpiece.	[27]
1978 (26th)	No Award					[4]
1979 (27th)	Shodh	Hindi	Sitakant Misra	Biplab Roy Choudhary	–	[45]
1980 (28th)	Akaler Shandhaney	Bengali	D. K. Films	Mrinal Sen	For brilliantly recreating the tragedy of the 1943 Bengal famine and focussing on the disturbing continuity of the conditions which created it, for the cinematic excellence of the film which explores human experience at the different levels and for the consummate artistry with which the complexity of the social-economic situation is fused into a poignant statement.	[21]
1981 (29th)	Dakhal	Bengali	West Bengal Film Industry	Gautam Ghose	For the visual eloquence with which it portrays the travails of a daughter of a soil courageously fighting for a social justice in the face of all odds and for the remarkable ability of its young director who writes the screenplay, handles the camera, scores the music and directs the film in a poetic manner.	[46]
1982 (30th)	Chokh	Bengali	• Department of Information, Cultural Affairs India  • Government of West Bengal	Utpalendu Chakrabarty	For its courage in exposing an aspect of contemporary reality which has great social relevance and for doing so with passion and integrity.	[47]
1983 (31st)	Adi Shankaracharya	Sanskrit	NFDC	G. V. Iyer	For its dedication, depth and power and the impressive skill with which it captures the Indian philosophical tradition.	[48]
1984 (32nd)	Damul	Hindi	Prakash Jha Productions	Prakash Jha	–	[49]
1985 (33rd)	Chidambaram	Malayalam	G. Aravindan	G. Aravindan	For providing rare cinematic experience while delineating the inner conflicts and suffering of an individual set against the backdrop of the elements.	[50]
1986 (34th)	Tabarana Kathe	Kannada	Girish Kasaravalli	Girish Kasaravalli	For an extremely sensitive probe into the anguish of a helpless individual caught in a bureaucratic web, depicted with great feeling and expertise as he waits for his pension, which arrives too late.	[51]
1987 (35th)	Halodhia Choraye Baodhan Khai	Assamese	• Sailadhar Barua  • Jahnu Barua	Jahnu Barua	For its mastery of cinematic form and the totality of its film craft and for its authentic depiction of the Indian rural problem and for the life affirmating human dignity it portrays in the face of the most trying social circumstances.	[52]
1988 (36th)	Piravi	Malayalam	Film Folks	Shaji N. Karun	For creattive evocation of human pathos with refined cinematic sensitivity.	[53]
1989 (37th)	Bagh Bahadur	Bengali	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For its portrayal of the steady destruction of rural folk traditions at the hands of a cheap and showy urban culture in the form a cinematically vibrant and heroic classical tragedy.	[54]
1990 (38th)	Marupakkam	Tamil	NFDC	K. S. Sethumadhavan	For striking a balance between the existing traditional values and the modern values that are infused subsequently, and for treating the subject with the highest standards or aesthetic excellence.	[55]
1991 (39th)	Agantuk	Bengali	NFDC	Satyajit Ray	For its masterly treatment of an unusual subject investing it with humour, suspense and drama accomplishing remarkable insight into human behavior.	[56]
1992 (40th)	Bhagwat Gita	Sanskrit	T. Subbarami Reddy	G. V. Iyer	For successfully translating immortal philosophy of the Bhagavad Gita into a cinematic idiom.	[57]
1993 (41st)	Charachar	Bengali	• Gita Gope  • Shankar Gope	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For its poetic and typical representation of the eternal human longing for liberation and man's alienation from Nature.	[58]
1994 (42nd)	Unishe April	Bengali	Rituparno Ghosh	Rituparno Ghosh	For a complex and impeccable rendition of fragmenting family relationships in urban India. The bond between a mother and daughter is extended to a defined space and time, and a drama immaculately constructed.	[59]
1995 (43rd)	Kathapurushan	Malayalam	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	Adoor Gopalakrishnan	For the remarkable portrayal of the individual born on the eve of Independence. The film gives an insight into the socio-political evolution of the post-independent India through the individual with outstanding cinematic qualities and universal appeal.	[60]
1996 (44th)	Lal Darja	Bengali	• Chitrani Lahiri  • Dulal Roy	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For its poetic presentation and exploration of complexities of human relationship in a contemporary urban milieu.	[61]
1997 (45th)	Thaayi Saheba	Kannada	Jayamala	Girish Kasaravalli	For its challenging portrayal of one woman who carries the burden of traditional constraints and restrictions of society and learns to overcome them with courage, dignity, sacrifice. In the process, she speaks for the emancipation of women.	[62]
1998 (46th)	Samar	Hindi	• Shyam Benegal  • Sahyadri Films  • NFDC	Shyam Benegal	For the innovative and human manner in which the director structures and presents a continuing social evil.	[63]
1999 (47th)	Vanaprastham	Malayalam	Mohanlal	Shaji N. Karun	For its multi layered treatment of issues like caste system, patronage to the arts, Guru Shishya Parampara, and the identity crisis of a performing artiste.	[64]
2000 (48th)	Shantham	Malayalam	P. V. Gangadharan	Jayaraj	For addressing the very contemporary issue of political rivalry and violence in our society in an unusually imaginative way. The language of the film goes beyond conventional narrative for appeal to calmness and good sense.	[65]
2001 (49th)	Dweepa	Kannada	Soundarya	Girish Kasaravalli	For the film combines integrity, creativity and aesthetics in its depiction of both the dilemmas and the spirit of a family who defy logic and weather to hold on to their roots.	[66]
2002 (50th)	Mondo Meyer Upakhyan	Bengali	Arya Bhattacharya	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For its poetic exploration of human and social realities concerning people on the fringes of society.	[67]
2003 (51st)	Shwaas	Marathi	Arun Nalawade	Sandeep Sawant	For its sensitive and moving portrayal of the relationship between a grandfather and his grandson when the child is about to lose his vision.	[68]
2004 (52nd)	Page 3	• Hindi  • English	Bobby Pushkarna	Madhur Bhandarkar	For a complex and daring attempt which exposes the shallow world of Page 3 in a manner which is both savagely satirical yet gently ironical.	[69]
2005 (53rd)	Kaalpurush	Bengali	Jhamu Sughand	Buddhadeb Dasgupta	For a rare lyrical style and a unique cohesion of narrative structure and characters that allow it to flow on different planes.	[70]
2006 (54th)	Pulijanmam	Malayalam	M. G. Vijay	Priyanandanan	For a layered film that uses metaphors to address global and local issues of contemporary society.	[23]
2007 (55th)	Kanchivaram	Tamil	Percept Picture Company	Priyadarshan	For presenting a rare portrayal of Kanchi's silk weaver community, and the internal struggle of a weaver caught between his ideals and personal dreams. A vibrant story and technical excellence blend to create a total cinematic experience.	[71]
2008 (56th)	Antaheen	Bengali	Screenplay Films	Aniruddha Roy Chowdhury	For lyrical blend of technical devices in the right proportion to depict shifting human relationships in an urban scenario.	[72]
2009 (57th)	Kutty Srank	Malayalam	Reliance Big Pictures	Shaji N. Karun	For its vision and cinematic craft that express the different perspectives of three women about the truth of the man in their lives.	[73]
2010 (58th)	Adaminte Makan Abu	Malayalam	• Salim Ahamed  • Ashraf Bedi	Salim Ahamed	For a simple yet evocative articulation of humanist values that frees matters of faith from the constrictions of narrow parochialism. The concerns of Abu, son of Adam, are timeless and universal in their scope.	[74]
2011 (59th)	Deool	Marathi	Abhijeet Gholap	Umesh Vinayak Kulkarni	For its witty, satirical and penetrative account of the politics involved in the commercialization of religion in India. Through a wonderfully authentic depiction of village life, mentality and gesture, Deool has a social, religious and commercial sweep, even as it individualizes each of its characters and endows them with a language and space of their own. The film ironically shows the wholehearted acceptance of commodified and clamorous religiosity in a land plagued by all the serious problems the country faces today, and it does so with laughter that is only slightly tinged with cynicism.	[5]
2011 (59th)	Byari	Beary	Altaaf Hussain	Suveeran	For a powerful engagement with religious personal law handled with sensitivity and urgency. Through its female protagonist, writer director Suveeran, poignantly and dramatically conveys the trauma of a woman who has to deal with unjust religious strictures. The film calls for a review of the practices that continue to control the lives of many women in this country.	[5]
2012 (60th)	Paan Singh Tomar	Hindi	UTV Software Communications	Tigmanshu Dhulia	Powerful presentation of a true life story which highlights the urgent need of a social support system for sportspersons especially in rural India. Sleek and sensitive handling of a not- too-common subject with remarkable aplomb. The movie leaves the viewer with a realization of the decadent value system prevalent in the society. Yet there is a beacon of hope!	[75]
2013 (61st)	Ship of Theseus	• English  • Hindi	Recyclewala Films Pvt Ltd	Anand Gandhi	A quietly powerful film of an unusual photographer, an erudite Jain monk and a young stock broker told through different segments which finally unites them through a strange circumstance. In the process the film depicts issues of intuitive brilliance, metaphysical belief and intricate morality in a world full of contradictions.	[76]
2014 (62nd)	Court	• Marathi  • Gujarati  • English  • Hindi	Zoo Entertainment Pvt. Ltd.	Chaitanya Tamhane	Court is a powerful and stark depiction of the mundaneness of judicial procedure revealed brilliantly by the film’s form, forcing us to reflect on the heartwrenching insensitivity of institutional structures.	[77]
2015 (63rd)	Baahubali: The Beginning	Telugu	• Shobu Yarlagadda  • Arka Media Works (P) LTD.	S. S. Rajamouli	An imaginative film and monumental by its production values and cinematic brilliance in creating a fantasy world on screen.	[78]
2016 (64th)	Kaasav	Marathi	• Sumitra Bhave  • Sunil Sukthankar  • Mohan Agashe	• Sumitra Bhave  • Sunil Sukthankar	In appreciation of the perfect blending of an environmental behaviour and a personal one in a poignantly beautiful cinematic way.	[6]

Leading actor and Leading actress were awarded with Medallion 21st – P. J. Antony and Sumithra 22nd – Utpal Dutt and Gita Sen

References

External links

• Official Page for Directorate of Film Festivals, India
• National Film Awards Archives