Winners of the prestigious 70th National Film Awards were unveiled today

Kannada star Rishab Shetty clinched the Best Actor award for his role in Kantara

Awards will be officially presented by President Droupadi Murmu in Oct 2024

The winners of the prestigious 70th National Film Awards were unveiled today, August 16, with Kannada star Rishab Shetty clinching the Best Actor award for his remarkable performance in Kantara. The ceremony, held in New Delhi, honored cinematic excellence for the year 2022.

Also read: Rishab Shetty talks about greater responsibility in ‘Kantara: Chapter 1’ than in the first part

KGF Chapter 2 was awarded as the Best Feature Film in Kannada. Aatam, a powerful narrative, was awarded the Best Feature Film, while Sooraj R. Barjatya took home the Best Direction award for Uunchai. The announcement, made by the Ministry of Information and Broadcasting, recognizes films certified by the censor board between January 1 and December 31, 2022.

In addition to Shetty’s win, Kantara was also recognized as the Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment. Nithya Menon and Manasi Parekh shared the Best Actress award for their roles in Thiruchitrambhalam and Kutch Express, respectively.

Other notable winners include Pavan Raj Malhotra, who secured the Best Supporting Actor award for Fouja, and Neena Gupta, who won Best Supporting Actress for Uunchai. The Best Cinematography award went to Ravi Varmam for Ponniyin Selvan 1.

The awards will be officially presented by President Droupadi Murmu in a ceremony scheduled for October 2024, celebrating the finest talents and contributions to Indian cinema.

Below is the full list of winners of the 70th National Film Awards:

Feature films categories

Best Film – Aatam

Best Direction – Sooraj R Barjatya for Uunchai

Best Popular Film Providing Wholesome Entertainment – Kantara

Best Children’s Film

Best Actor – Rishabh Shetty for Kantara

Best Actress – Nithya Menon for Thiruchitrambhalam and Manasi Parekh for Kutch Express

Best Supporting Actor – Pavan Raj Malhotra for Fouja

Best Supporting Actress – Neena Gupta for Uunchai

Best Child Artist – Sreepath for Malikappuram

Best Cinematography – Ravi Varmam for Ponniyin Selvan 1

Best Screenplay – Anand Ekarshi for Aatam

Best Dialogue Writer – Arpita Mukherjee and Rahul V Chittela for Gulmohar

Best Production Design – Ananda Addhya for Aparajito

Best Action Choreography – Anbariv for KGF Chapter 2

Best Make-Up Artist – Somnath Kundu for Aparajito

Best Costume Design – Niki Joshi for Kutch Express

Best Music Direction for Songs – Pritam for Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva

Best Music Direction for Background Scores – AR Rahman for Ponniyin Selvan 2

Best Lyrics – Naushad Sadar Khan for ‘Salaami’ in Fouja

Best Male Playback Singer – Arijit Singh for ‘Kesariya’ from Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva

Best Female Playback Singer – Bombay Jayashri for ‘Chaayum Veyil’ from Saudi Vellakka

Best Choreography – Jani Master and Sathish Krishnan for ‘Megham Karukatha’ in Thiruchitrambalam

Best Sound Design – Anand Krishnamoorthy for Ponniyin Selvan – Part 1

Best Editing – Mahesh Bhuvanend for Aattam

Special Jury Award – Manoj Bajpayee for Gulmohar and Sanjoy Chowdhury for Kadhikan

Best Feature Film In Assamese – Emuthi Puthi by Kulanandini Mahanta

Best Feature Film In Bengali – Kaberi Antardhan by Kaushik Gangula

Best Feature Film In Hindi – Gulmohar by Rahul V. Chittella

Best Feature Film In Kannada – KGF Chapter 2 by Prashanth Neel

Best Feature Film In Malayalam – Saudi Vellakka by Tharun Moorthy

Best Feature Film In Marathi – Vaalvi by Paresh Mokashi

Best Feature Film In Punjabi – Baghi Di Dhee by Mukesh Gautam

Best Feature Film In Tamil – Ponniyin Selvan Part 1, by Mani Ratnam

Best Feature Film In Telugu – Karthikeya 2, Chandoo Mondeti

Best Film in Animation, Visual Effects, Gaming and Comic – Brahmastra: Part 1 – Shiva, by Ayan Mukherji

Best Feature Film promoting National, Social, and Environmental Values – Kutch Express by Viral Shah

Non-feature films categories

Best Non-Feature Film – Ayena by Siddhant Sarin

Best Documentary – Murmurs of the Jungle

Best Animated Film – A Coconut Tree by Joshy Benedict

Best Non-Feature Film Direction – From The Shadow by Miriam Chandy Menacherry

Best Non-Feature Film Music Direction – Vishal Bharadwaj for Fursat (Leisure)

Best Book On Cinema – Kishore Kumar: The Ultimate Biography by Anirudha Bhattacharjee and Parthiv Dhar

Best Film Critic – Deepak Dua (Hindi)