Gumohar won Best Hindi film, Neena Gupta won Best Supporting Actress National Film Award
The 70th National Film Awards were announced on August 16, revealing winners from across film industries. Feature Film Jury Chairperson Rahul Rawail announced the winners during a ceremony in Delhi. Films certified in 2022 were eligible for the awards announced on Friday. Sharmila Tagore starrer Gulmohar won the Best Hindi Film National Award, while Manoj Bajpayee won a special mention for the same film. Neena Gupta was given the Best Supporting Actress Award for her performance in Uunchai.
The National Film Awards jury includes Rahul Rawail, Chairperson of the Feature Film Jury; Nila Madhab Panda, Chairperson of the Non-Feature Film Jury; Mr. Gangadhar Mudalair, Chairperson of the Best Writing on Cinema Jury.
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Neena Gupta was named the Best Actress in a supporting role for the multi-starrer film Uunchai. The film is directed by Sooraj Barjatya, written by Abhishek Dixit on the basis of an original story by Sunil Gandhi. it stars an ensemble cast of Amitabh Bachchan, Anupam Kher, Boman Irani, Danny Denzongpa, Parineeti Chopra, Neena Gupta and Sarika. Sooraj R Barjatya was judged as the best director for 'Uunchai'.
Gulmohar is a family drama about the Batra family film written and directed by Rahul V. Chittella with Manoj Bajpayee playing Arun Batra. The film sees the Batra family move out of their family home after matriarch Sharmila Tagore decides to sell it. The decision causes rifts among the members. This complete change in lifestyle sees them back at square one, relying on their bond with each other to move ahead. This feel-good drama shows the closeness of family and the importance of relationships unlike any other. It also deals with themes of LGBTQ and adoption. It was released on Disney+ Hotstar OTT platform on 3 March 2023.
Other winners at the 70th National Film Awards included Malayalam movie 'Aattam: The Play', which bagged the best feature film trophy. The National Film Award for Best Actor went to Rishabh Shetty for the Kannada film 'Kantara'. The Best Actress award saw a tie - Nithya Menon won it for 'Thiruchitrambalam', while Manasi Parekh bagged it for 'Kutch Express'. Pawan Malhotra won the Best Supporting Actor award for 'Fouja'.
AR Rahman won the National Film Award for best music director (background music) for his work in Mani Ratnam's "Ponnyin Selvan-Part 1", which was also named the best Tamil film. Pritam got the award for best music director (songs) for "Brahmastra-Part 1".